\u201cEducating rangatahi M\u0101ori in their own m\u0101tauranga means providing a base for youth to thrive in the \u0101huru mowai of their own world, while still being able to walk in the modern day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Understanding the history of his iwi had shaped his view of identity and leadership.<\/p>\n
He said some early P\u0101keh\u0101 historians wrote about Ng\u0101ti Maru as though the iwi had faded away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the fact that I\u2019m sitting here proves otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Tauranga, James-Murray spent much of his childhood in Rotorua, where his connection to te ao M\u0101ori began early.<\/p>\n
He attended a kindergarten run by his aunt, where M\u0101ori language and traditions were part of everyday learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where it really started for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned stories about M\u0101ui slowing the sun, sang waiata and used poi. It wasn\u2019t full kapa haka, but it was our first introduction to those traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teachers also played an important role in encouraging his interest in M\u0101ori language and history.<\/p>\n
At Ngongotah\u0101 Primary School, he credited teacher Dean Henderson as one of his biggest supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe helped me a lot with te reo and learning the local stories of Rotorua.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was one of the biggest supporters of my M\u0101ori journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keeli James-Murray. <\/p>\n
James-Murray later attended schools across Rotorua before moving to the Coromandel Peninsula in 2022 and enrolling at Coromandel Area School.<\/p>\n
He said the move had helped deepen his understanding of te reo M\u0101ori and whakapapa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place has probably been the biggest learning centre for me when it comes to te reo and my whakapapa.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving teachers who are willing to spend time helping you learn those things makes a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
His fascination with history has remained constant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have many other interests. Most of it is just history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milestones in the community also reinforced the importance of preserving the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis April, we\u2019ll be marking the 125th anniversary of our church.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll also be celebrating the anniversaries of our marae.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of the Tuia Programme, James-Murray will be mentored one-on-one by Te Tara o Te Ika M\u0101ori ward councillor Michael Barlow.<\/p>\n
Participants are expected to complete a 100-hour community service project in their community, providing opportunities to share experiences, practise new strategies and demonstrate leadership.<\/p>\n
Barlow said he hoped the programme would strengthen James-Murray\u2019s confidence, sense of identity and connection to his role as a young M\u0101ori contributing to his community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs our first TCDC rangatahi in the programme, Keeli helps open the door for others to follow, showing that rangatahi M\u0101ori belong in these spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want him to come away feeling supported, valued and inspired to give back to his wh\u0101nau and hapori in ways that matter to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barlow also saw real value in how the programme honoured Te Tiriti o Waitangi while nurturing confidence and connection for young M\u0101ori leaders.<\/p>\n
For James-Murray, leadership is about what someone does rather than the position they hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeadership is what you do, what you think and what you say.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have leaders who are out there to line their own pockets, or you can have leaders who are out there building papak\u0101inga and m\u0101ra kai, making things happen in their communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are leaders to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Tuia Programme offers insight into civic leadership, James-Murray said national politics was not where his focus lay.<\/p>\n
\u201cParliament doesn\u2019t interest me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHome interests me. It\u2019s knowing that my people are okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, he was focused on learning and preparing for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now, I\u2019m just putting powder into my musket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll shoot it later.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tuia Programme has been running since 2011, and more than 40 councils across New Zealand now support rangatahi to take part in the leadership initiative.<\/p>\n
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cEducating rangatahi M\u0101ori in their own m\u0101tauranga means providing a base for youth to thrive in the \u0101huru…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6028,8615,22506,4527,71,305,50521,5511,1043,111,43,139,69,384,113222,9631,27300,61,181613,181612,11548,1316],"class_list":["post-339524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-champion","tag-come","tag-coromandel","tag-doesnt","tag-from","tag-have","tag-iwi","tag-just","tag-leadership","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-people","tag-rangatahi","tag-student","tag-theyre","tag-to","tag-tpuna","tag-tuia","tag-voice","tag-when"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}