Running with the Ancestors, Paora Te Hurihanganui

Paora Te Hurihanganui

Paora Te Hurihanganui is a son of the sovereign tribal nation of Ngāti Rangiwewehi and is of Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent. Previously, he led Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa, an iwi-mandated trust, for 16 years as CEO, and also directed the Te Arawa and Tūwharetoa regional Whānau Resilience nine-provider family harm collective response.

Paora is currently the CEO of Te Arawa Whānau Ora (https://tearawawhanauora.org.nz/) and is in the final stage of completing a PhD in Public Health at Victoria University of Wellington.

He is passionate about revitalising ancestral and cultural pursuits and has a diverse background in Māori arts, traditional healing, traditional waka, and ancestral games. He is a firm believer in using traditional sites of significance as authentic connections for positive individual and collective transformation, and in the notion of whakapapa as pathways to optimum health and wellbeing.

Paora has been a successful Kapa Haka exponent, performing internationally and in six Te Matatini finals, winning a national title in 1996 alongside Ngāti Rangiwewehi. He is the Kaihautū of Te Arawa Waka Taua and loves whakapapa, his whānau, the All Blacks (only when they are winning), and spending time in the ngahere and the moana. In 2015, Paora received a New Zealander of the Year award for innovation.