Episode 119 - Tino Rangatiratanga: Taking control of my Māori Identity with Nick Parata

Growing up in Dunedin, New Zealand our guest this week speaks about the importance that his whanau/family has had in his life. This became more evident as Nick Parata started to explore, learn and embrace his Māori identity. We speak about how this was and has not always been an easy exploration especially as humans use outward appearances to make judgement calls about a person. A trait that we can all be guilty off. The early challenges Nick faced only further strengthen his resolve to not just embrace his heritage but to be proud of it. We talk about how this as influenced his study and research passions while having a laugh over a few stories. We also talk about how Nick's involvement in hockey essentially started by just going along to weekend games to now being a representative player for a number of teams. The interesting thread through these endeavours is once again tied to his Māori identity. This is a fun conversation with lots for us all to ponder about as we think about the world today. Enjoy! Prajesh and Tane