Kataraina Rimene

Kataraina Rimene, along with Saana Waitai-Murray and Del Wihongi were equally concerned over Crown control of access to, and commercialisation of, taonga plant species. Prohibitions on the ‘cultural harvest’ of traditional foods such as kererū and kuaka, and the appropriation of ancestral lands by the Crown to create ‘reserves’ to conserve species such as the flax snail, pūpūharakeke, was a major concern for Saana. As a representative for Ngāti Kahungunu, Kataraina long held her position in the Wai 262 claim with the support of her iwi. Wawāhi te taura harakeke engari anō mo te taura whakapapa - you can break the flaxen rope but not the bonds of whakapapa - that extends to the taiao and our whakapapa to Papatuanuku. It is our inalienable obligation to protect our whakapapa.