Sunday Star Times
A brief history of Tuhoe
Submitted by admin on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 01:52.
Summary:
The tribe, immortalised in Elsdon Best's 1925 history Children of the Mist, have a mystique as powerful as the remote and rugged Urewera region that is their home ground. But now, in the wake of allegations of a series of armed training camps in the Urewera, the tribe is gaining a new notoriety, with headlines such as "Guerrillas in the Mist".
Activist Tame Iti's iwi is renowned for its staunch independence, as well as its path of isolation and harrowing loss. Ruth Laugesen reports.
Guerrillas in our midst? No says Rawiri Taonui
Tuhoe people, says Maori broadcaster Willie Jackson, radiate toughness.
"They are known for their staunchness, around the Maori language, about their land," says Jackson, who is related by marriage to Tuhoe activist Tame Iti.
"You know straight away when Tuhoes are in town, or working for you. Their Tuhoetanga is so prominent; there's a certain pride. They just exude it," he says.
