Te Whakapapa o Ngā Rangahautira: Hei Tauira mō Āpōpō

Phaedra Chin (she/her) - Te Arawa, Te Aupōuri

Savannah Cowan (she/her) - Ngāpuhi, Ngāruahine, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Kauwhata

Kō ngā tahu ā ō tapuwai inanahi, hei tauira mō āpōpō.

The footsteps laid down by our ancestors create the paving stones upon which we stand today. 

This whakataukī prompts us to look back on the achievements and legacy of Ngā Rangahautira and the way our history continues to inspire Māori law students. As Ngā Rangahautira celebrates its 40th anniversary, we reflect not only on where we have come from, but on the whakapapa that continues to shape our rōpū today. Each generation has strengthened and added to the whakapapa of Ngā Rangahautira.

To celebrate this year's milestone, we honour the rangatira who paved the way for current and future Māori law students to succeed. Because of Tā Justice Joe Williams and Ani Mikaere’s submission on the Fisheries Bill, Ngā Rangahautira continues to submit on Bills. Because of the gifting of Te Kauwae Parāoa—the study room for Māori and Pasifika—by David Jones (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Kahungunu) and Tai Ahu (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Kahu), Māori law students have a designated space within the colonial walls of the Old Government Building law school. Because of so many rangatira who have fought to create spaces for, and uplift the voices of, tauira Māori, Ngā Rangahautira is thriving today. It is due to tauira Māori success at Te Herenga Waka law school that we have Māori Judges, Māori legal academics, and Māori lawyers to inspire and guide the next generation of Māori law students.

Tā Joe reflected on his time in the 1980s, remembering that most Pākehā students had mothers and fathers who were lawyers and Judges. His cohort recognised that, for most Māori at the time, they were the first people in their whānau to even go to university and, nevertheless, had connections in the legal profession. Where we are today is the result of generations of tauira Māori responding to the changing needs of our people. This year, in May, we celebrated 39 Māori law students who graduated with their law degrees, the largest cohort of Māori law graduates from Te Herenga Waka yet. Today, Ngā Rangahautira provides opportunities for tauira across all aspects of life, including weekly kapa haka practices, sports games, and our kawhe and kōrero kaupapa. Alongside our annual mooting and negotiation competitions and the launch of the Te Rangahuatau magazine, we run legal skills and networking workshops, panels, noho marae, Mana Māori keynote presentations, social events, and, naturally, study wā.

One whakaaro that continues to guide many tauira comes from Dr Moana Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Porou), who challenged us to be “Māori who happen to be lawyers, not lawyers who happen to be Māori.” While we strive for academic excellence, our purpose has always been broader, which is to support tauira to carry their Māoritanga with confidence into the law and to strengthen the profession through it. Year after year, tauira seek refuge in Ngā Rangahautira, not only to receive academic support, but to connect with their Māoritanga.

Perhaps the greatest lesson of the past 40 years is that Ngā Rangahautira has never been defined by any one kaupapa, executive komiti, or generation. It has endured because each generation has recognised what was needed in its own time, contributed what it could, and left a stronger foundation for those who followed. Whatever the next 40 years bring, we hope Ngā Rangahautira continues to respond in the same way it always has: by listening to the needs of tauira, creating opportunities where they are needed, and ensuring that those who come after us begin from a stronger position than we did.

Nā,

Phaedra Chin (Te Arawa, Te Aupōuri) | Savannah Cowan (Ngāpuhi, Ngāruahine, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Kauwhata).