Te Pāti Māori - Te Tai Tonga
Tākuta Ferris
Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou
Tākuta Ferris is a staunch believer in Māori independence and understands that a critical road map is required to deliver it.
In Tākuta’s own words, "...if Hong Kong could deliver and execute a 99-year exit plan to the British after 156 years of occupation, then so can we, but faster!"
A carver, fisherman, and diver, Tākuta is a pā kid, a flax roots and rock pools homegrown type who has dedicated much of his life to whānau, hapū, and marae
development.
Tākuta has a number of degrees, but says that the thing that matters the most is belief. He has been in senior leadership roles in education for the last 14 years and has a strong understanding of the system. He has served the past three years on the New Zealand Māori Council Executive as Māngai, and is a trustee of his home hapū authority, Te Mana o Ngāti Kere.
"...The best way to reclaim your independence, your sovereignty, is to behave as if you never lost it". These are the words of Whatarangi Winiata and have served as a mantra for Tākuta for more than two decades.
Tākuta says, "There has never been a generation of Te Iwi Māori that has known more about our history and current predicament, than this generation, we know far too much to sit by and do nothing, the time is now!"