Tame Iti
Encyclopedia
Tāme Wairere Iti has become well known in New Zealand
as a Tūhoe
Māori activist.
, Tame Iti grew up with his grandparents in the custom known as whāngai (adoption within the same family) on a farm near Ruatoki
in the Urewera
area of New Zealand
. He says that at the age of 10 school authorities forbade him to speak Māori
at school. On leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship in interior decorating in Christchurch
.
As the Māori nationalist movement
grew in New Zealand in the late 1960s and 1970s, Iti became involved. He protested against the Vietnam War
and apartheid-era South Africa, and he became involved with Nga Tamatoa
, a major Māori protest-group of the 1970s, from its early days. He joined the Communist Party of New Zealand
, and went to China
in 1973 during the cultural revolution
. He has taken part in a number of land-occupation
s and held a hikoi
to the New Zealand Parliament.
Iti has since worked as a radio DJ
and artist. He also opened a restaurant in Auckland serving traditional Māori food, but it collapsed shortly after its launch.
Sponsored by the wealthy Gibbs family, Iti briefly set up an art-gallery on Auckland
's Karangahape Road
. He stood for Parliament as a candidate of Mana Māori
in the 1996
, 1999
and 2002
New Zealand general elections.
Tame Iti's ability to court controversy has made him a common feature in New Zealand
media
. Tame Iti has a full facial moko
, which he described as "the face of the future" in New Zealand. During 2004 he wore a mohawk
. The public arguably know Iti best for his moko and for performing whakapohane
(baring his buttocks) at protests.
(or greeting ceremony) which formed part of a Waitangi Tribunal
hearing, Tāme Iti fired a shotgun
into a New Zealand
flag in close proximity to a large number of people, which he explained was an attempt to recreate the 1860s East Cape War
: "We wanted them to feel the heat and smoke, and Tūhoe outrage and disgust at the way we have been treated for 200 years". The incident was filmed by television crews but initially ignored by police. The matter was however raised in parliament, one opposition MP
asking "why Tāme Iti can brandish a firearm and gloat about how he got away with threatening judges on the Waitangi Tribunal, without immediate arrest and prosecution".
New Zealand Police
subsequently charged Iti with discharging a firearm in a public place. His trial occurred in June 2006. Tāme Iti elected to give evidence in Māori (his second language), stating that he was following the Tūhoe custom of making noise with totara poles. Tūhoe Rangatira stated Iti had been disciplined by the tribe and protocol clarified to say discharge of a weapon in anger was always inappropriate (but stated that it was appropriate when honouring dead warriors, (in a manner culturally equivalent to the firing of a volley over a grave within Western cultures)). Judge Chris McGuire said "It was designed to intimidate unnecessarily and shock. It was a stunt, it was unlawful".
Judge McGuire convicted Iti on both charges and fined him. Iti attempted to sell the flag he shot on the TradeMe
auction site to pay the fine and his legal costs, but the sale - a violation of proceeds of crime legislation - was withdrawn.
Iti lodged an appeal, in which his lawyer, Annette Sykes
, argued that Crown Law did not stretch to the ceremonial area in front of a Marae's Wharenui. On April 4, 2007, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand
overturned his convictions for unlawfully possessing a firearm. While recognising that events occurred in "a unique setting", the court did not agree with Sykes' submission about Crown law. However Justices Hammond, O'Regan and Wilson found that his prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Iti's actions caused "requisite harm", under Section 51 of the Arms Act. The Court of Appeal described Iti's protest as "a foolhardy enterprise" and warned him not to attempt anything similar again.
and the Firearms Act
.
Along with others, he will be bought to trial before a judge in August 2011, nearly 4 years after the events took place.
In September 2011 the court dropped all charges under the Firearms Act and most of the alleged terrorists originally arrested with Iti have had all terrorism and firearms charges dropped. Iti and a small group will now be charged with belonging to a criminal group. The reason given for dropping charges was that it was in the best public interest. The Police Minister,Judth Collins, has refused to apologise. Iti's lawyer Annette Sykes said on Radio Live it was common for Tuhoe people to own and use firearms without having a licence. She added it was undecided whether Iti would claim compensation from the crown but he had experienced a difficult 4 years and his wife and family had left him. He had been unable to get a job.
choreographer Lemi Ponifasio
. The Tempest premiered in Vienna
in June 2007. Tempest II was performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London in June 2008. Because of Iti's arrest and court case over the 'terror-raids' Ponifasio had to convince the New Zealand High Court to allow the detained Maori activist to travel on the 2008 tour. Affidavits in support of MAU from international arts organizations had also been submitted as evidence to the High Court. Iti was eventually allowed to travel for the tour. Tempest:Without a Body made its New Zealand premier at the Auckland Festival
in March 2009.
In 2008, Tame Iti featured with his son Toikairakau (Toi) Iti in the New Zealand documentary Children of the Revolution (2008) which screened on Maori Television
in April of the same year. Children of the Revolution is about the children of political activists in New Zealand and also featured anti-apartheid leader John Minto
and his teenage son; Green Party Member of Parliament, Sue Bradford
and her journalist daughter Katie Azania Bradford; Maori Party
Member of Parliament, Hone Harawira
and his wife Hilda Harawira with their daughter Te Whenua Harawira (organiser of the 2004 Seabed and Foreshore Land March) and musician and former political prisoner Tigilau Ness
with his son, hip hop artist Che Fu
. The documentary was directed by Makerita Urale and produced by Claudette Hauiti and Maori production company Front of the Box Productions. The documentary won Best Maori Language Programme at the New Zealand Qantas Television Awards
(now called Qantas Film & Television Awards) in 2008.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
as a Tūhoe
Tuhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
Māori activist.
Early life
Born on a train near RotoruaRotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
, Tame Iti grew up with his grandparents in the custom known as whāngai (adoption within the same family) on a farm near Ruatoki
Ruatoki
Ruatoki is a locality in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is located at the base of the Urewera Valley, approximately 20 km south of Whakatane. The predominantly Māori community of approximately 600 people affiliate with the Tūhoe iwi, with at least ten marae located in the area...
in the Urewera
Te Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of the central North Island of New Zealand. Located in rough, sparsely populated hill country to the northeast of Lake Taupo, it is the historical home of Tuhoe, a Māori iwi known for their controversial stance on Māori sovereignty...
area of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He says that at the age of 10 school authorities forbade him to speak Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
at school. On leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship in interior decorating in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
As the Māori nationalist movement
Maori protest movement
The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous rights movement in New Zealand. While this movement has existed since Europeans first colonised New Zealand its modern form emerged in the early 1970s and has focused on issues such as the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori land rights, the Māori language and...
grew in New Zealand in the late 1960s and 1970s, Iti became involved. He protested against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and apartheid-era South Africa, and he became involved with Nga Tamatoa
Nga Tamatoa
Ngā Tamatoa was a Māori activist group that operated from the early 1970s until 1979, and existed to fight for Maori rights, land and culture as well as confront injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand Government, particularly violations of the Treaty of Waitangi.Nga Tamatoa emerged out of a...
, a major Māori protest-group of the 1970s, from its early days. He joined the Communist Party of New Zealand
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
, and went to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1973 during the cultural revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. He has taken part in a number of land-occupation
Occupation (protest)
An as an act of protest, is the entry into and holding of a building, space or symbolic site. As such, occupations often combine some of the following elements: a challenge to ownership of the space involved, an effort to gain public attention, the practical use of the facilities occupied, and a...
s and held a hikoi
Hikoi
Hikoi is a term of the Maori language of New Zealand generally meaning a protest march or parade, usually implying a long journey taking days or weeks....
to the New Zealand Parliament.
Iti has since worked as a radio DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and artist. He also opened a restaurant in Auckland serving traditional Māori food, but it collapsed shortly after its launch.
Sponsored by the wealthy Gibbs family, Iti briefly set up an art-gallery on Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's Karangahape Road
Karangahape Road
Karangahape Road is one of the main streets in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area - and subsequent flight of residents and retail into the suburbs - turned it from one of Auckland's premier shopping streets...
. He stood for Parliament as a candidate of Mana Māori
Mana Maori Movement
The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a prominent Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Mana Motuhake joined the Alliance...
in the 1996
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...
, 1999
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
and 2002
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
New Zealand general elections.
Current activity
Tūhoe employed Iti as a social-worker with expertise in combatting drug and alcohol addictions. He has three children, two of them adults.Tame Iti's ability to court controversy has made him a common feature in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. Tame Iti has a full facial moko
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
, which he described as "the face of the future" in New Zealand. During 2004 he wore a mohawk
Mohawk hairstyle
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair...
. The public arguably know Iti best for his moko and for performing whakapohane
Whakapohane
Whakapohane is the Māori practice of baring one's buttocks with the intent to offend. It is as offensive in Māori as in Pākehā culture — symbolises the birthing act, and renders the recipient noa ....
(baring his buttocks) at protests.
Firearms charge
On January 16, 2005 during a powhiriPowhiri
A Pōwhiri is a Māori welcoming ceremony involving speeches, dancing, singing and finally the hongi...
(or greeting ceremony) which formed part of a Waitangi Tribunal
Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975...
hearing, Tāme Iti fired a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
into a New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....
flag in close proximity to a large number of people, which he explained was an attempt to recreate the 1860s East Cape War
East Cape War
The East Cape War, sometimes also called the East Coast War, refers to a series of conflicts that were fought in the North Island of New Zealand from about 13 April 1865 to June 1868...
: "We wanted them to feel the heat and smoke, and Tūhoe outrage and disgust at the way we have been treated for 200 years". The incident was filmed by television crews but initially ignored by police. The matter was however raised in parliament, one opposition MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
asking "why Tāme Iti can brandish a firearm and gloat about how he got away with threatening judges on the Waitangi Tribunal, without immediate arrest and prosecution".
New Zealand Police
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...
subsequently charged Iti with discharging a firearm in a public place. His trial occurred in June 2006. Tāme Iti elected to give evidence in Māori (his second language), stating that he was following the Tūhoe custom of making noise with totara poles. Tūhoe Rangatira stated Iti had been disciplined by the tribe and protocol clarified to say discharge of a weapon in anger was always inappropriate (but stated that it was appropriate when honouring dead warriors, (in a manner culturally equivalent to the firing of a volley over a grave within Western cultures)). Judge Chris McGuire said "It was designed to intimidate unnecessarily and shock. It was a stunt, it was unlawful".
Judge McGuire convicted Iti on both charges and fined him. Iti attempted to sell the flag he shot on the TradeMe
TradeMe
Trade Me is the largest Internet-auction website operating in New Zealand. Managed by Trade Me Ltd the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneurSam Morgan who sold it to Fairfax in 2006 for NZ$700 million...
auction site to pay the fine and his legal costs, but the sale - a violation of proceeds of crime legislation - was withdrawn.
Iti lodged an appeal, in which his lawyer, Annette Sykes
Annette Sykes
Annette Te Imaima Sykes is a Rotorua activist and lawyer who fights for the rights of Māori tribes to be self-governing.-Biography:Sykes is of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Makino descent, two of the confederated tribes of Te Arawa waka....
, argued that Crown Law did not stretch to the ceremonial area in front of a Marae's Wharenui. On April 4, 2007, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand
Court of Appeal of New Zealand
The Court of Appeal of New Zealand, located in Wellington, is New Zealand’s principal intermediate appellate court. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court...
overturned his convictions for unlawfully possessing a firearm. While recognising that events occurred in "a unique setting", the court did not agree with Sykes' submission about Crown law. However Justices Hammond, O'Regan and Wilson found that his prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Iti's actions caused "requisite harm", under Section 51 of the Arms Act. The Court of Appeal described Iti's protest as "a foolhardy enterprise" and warned him not to attempt anything similar again.
2007 terrorism raids
Iti figured among the at least 17 people arrested by police on 15 October 2007 in a series of raids under the Terrorism Suppression ActTerrorism Suppression Act 2002
The Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 is a piece of anti-terrorism legislation from New Zealand.In the first test of the Act, during the 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids, the Solicitor-General declined to press charges under it, because the legislation was too complex. It was amended in late 2007....
and the Firearms Act
Firearms Act
Firearms Act is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Hong Kong, Jamaica, and the United Kingdom.-United Kingdom:*The Firearms Act 1920 *The Firearms and Imitation Firearms Act 1933...
.
Along with others, he will be bought to trial before a judge in August 2011, nearly 4 years after the events took place.
In September 2011 the court dropped all charges under the Firearms Act and most of the alleged terrorists originally arrested with Iti have had all terrorism and firearms charges dropped. Iti and a small group will now be charged with belonging to a criminal group. The reason given for dropping charges was that it was in the best public interest. The Police Minister,Judth Collins, has refused to apologise. Iti's lawyer Annette Sykes said on Radio Live it was common for Tuhoe people to own and use firearms without having a licence. She added it was undecided whether Iti would claim compensation from the crown but he had experienced a difficult 4 years and his wife and family had left him. He had been unable to get a job.
Performance art
Tame Iti performed a lead role in the Tempest dance theatre production by MAU, a New Zealand contemporary dance company directed by SamoanSamoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
choreographer Lemi Ponifasio
Lemi Ponifasio
Lemi Ponifasio is a Samoan choreographer and the founder and director of MAU, New Zealand's most prolific international contemporary dance and theatre company...
. The Tempest premiered in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in June 2007. Tempest II was performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London in June 2008. Because of Iti's arrest and court case over the 'terror-raids' Ponifasio had to convince the New Zealand High Court to allow the detained Maori activist to travel on the 2008 tour. Affidavits in support of MAU from international arts organizations had also been submitted as evidence to the High Court. Iti was eventually allowed to travel for the tour. Tempest:Without a Body made its New Zealand premier at the Auckland Festival
Auckland Festival
The Auckland Festival is a biennial arts and cultural festival held in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new works and international performing arts events.-History:Auckland was the first...
in March 2009.
Documentary
Tame Iti has appeared in television over the years.In 2008, Tame Iti featured with his son Toikairakau (Toi) Iti in the New Zealand documentary Children of the Revolution (2008) which screened on Maori Television
Maori Television
Māori Television is a New Zealand TV station broadcasting programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture . Funded by the New Zealand Government, the station started broadcasting on 28 March 2004 from a base in Newmarket.Te Reo is the...
in April of the same year. Children of the Revolution is about the children of political activists in New Zealand and also featured anti-apartheid leader John Minto
John Minto
John Minto is a New Zealand based political activist known for his involvement in various left-wing groups and causes, most notably Halt All Racist Tours. A 2005 documentary on New Zealand's top 100 history makers listed him as number 89. Today he is involved with the protest group Global Peace...
and his teenage son; Green Party Member of Parliament, Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford is a New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.- Early life :...
and her journalist daughter Katie Azania Bradford; Maori Party
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
Member of Parliament, Hone Harawira
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and parliamentarian. He was elected to the Parliament of New Zealand for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in the 2005 general election as the Māori Party candidate. His resignation caused the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, held...
and his wife Hilda Harawira with their daughter Te Whenua Harawira (organiser of the 2004 Seabed and Foreshore Land March) and musician and former political prisoner Tigilau Ness
Tigilau Ness
Tigilau Ness is a Niuean New Zealand activist and reggae artist, and performs as Unity Pacific.Ness is a political activist and first generation Pacific Island New Zealander.-Lifetime achievement award:...
with his son, hip hop artist Che Fu
Che Fu
Che Fu MNZM is a New Zealand Hip hop/R&B and Reggae recording artist and producer. Originally one part of the band Supergroove, as a solo artist he has gone on to sell thousands of albums both in New Zealand and internationally, including in Australia and the UK.-History:Fu is one of New Zealand's...
. The documentary was directed by Makerita Urale and produced by Claudette Hauiti and Maori production company Front of the Box Productions. The documentary won Best Maori Language Programme at the New Zealand Qantas Television Awards
Qantas Television Awards
The Aotearoa Film & Television Awards, formerly known as the Qantas Television Awards, are presented by the New Zealand Television Broadcasters' Council...
(now called Qantas Film & Television Awards) in 2008.
External links
- Iti goes to court for firearms charges
- Interview in New Zealand HeraldThe New Zealand Herald- External links :* * *...
- Mana magazine 1995 article on Iti
- News-item, conviction
- Tame Iti, Feature: Co-Creator (the open project)
- TradeMe-founder Sam Morgan speaks to TV1 about why he removed the flag from sale on TradeMeTradeMeTrade Me is the largest Internet-auction website operating in New Zealand. Managed by Trade Me Ltd the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneurSam Morgan who sold it to Fairfax in 2006 for NZ$700 million...
- The Ruatoki valley blazes as Tuhoe stands tall — Indigimedia
- Images of Tāme Iti shooting the flag
- Youtube: Tāme Iti on performing arts and culture
- Harvey, Claire "Tribe of terror", The BulletinThe BulletinThe Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, ACP Magazines. - MAU dance company, NZ
- Front of the Box Productions