Toi Māori waka representatives Paddle to Lummi Nation

Toi Māori waka representatives Piripi Taylor and Kevin Harrison join the Northwest Coast Tribes of the USA and Canada to participate in the Annual Tribal Canoe Journeys (est1990) Paddle to Lummi Nation.

Māori Television Multimedia Journalist/Producer Piripi Taylor and Kevin Harrison have been selected to represent Toi Maori at the Tribal Canoe Journeys 2019, Paddle to Lummi with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

Piripi was taught at a very young age by late elder Tēpene Mamaku and had also been involved with his Te Teko and Mataatua relations in many waka activities in Whakatane and Waitangi.

Kevin has been involved in international waka activities with Toi Māori over several years; 2010 with the handover of Te Hono ki Aotearoa ceremonial waka in Leiden, Netherlands and again with the Queens Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012 on the River Thames.

His mentor was the late Sir Heke-nuku-mai-nga-iwi Puhipi (Hector Busby). Both Hector and Tēpene Mamaku were life-long friends providing wisdom, guidance and advice as kaumātua for kaupapa waka.

Piripi and Kevin have a number of other skills and talents that they will be able to share with their hosts and other tribes while on the journey. Both work for Māori Television, so coverage of the Tribal Canoe Journeys 2019 will be documented and shared.

The Canoe journey exchange with the Grand Ronde has been on-going since 2009 with their tribal members also participating in the Waitangi Waka Pageants on the 6th of February since 2010.

Other previous leaders selected to go on the canoe journeys by Toi Māori in the past have also helped with their families to host our indigenous whānau before heading north to Waitangi every year.

Both cultures share in the life skills and art form of pulling a canoe together, experiencing all the ups and downs of a journey. This journey is a course for success for all those involved and produces leaders for the future. Rituals are exchanged at each Reservation the canoe families stop off at. Food is shared in their communal Long Houses. Rituals begin immediately after with the furthest tribes beginning their ceremonies and continue late in to the night. Piripi Taylor and Kevin Harrison begin their journey from tomorrow onwards.

ENDS

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