Dr. Rangimarie Turuki Rose Pere is a formidable woman, Moari leader and ambassador for the Maori tradition and a CBE (given by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) and she upholds her tradition of using her intuition and insight to navigate through life.
She was named Young Maori Woman of the Year back in 1971 when she said the following statement.....
"Born in Ruatahuna in the middle of of July and brought up as a child at Waikaremoana, in the Urewera, I was strongly influenced by Maoritanga, my grandparents, and the rest of the elders who lived in our district. Our Maori elders fascinated us with their ‘mokopunas’, with stories, speeches, songs, chants, and hakas. These kaumatuas could entertain and control us for hours on end, and were always very popular. There always seemed to be plenty to eat when one visited an old ‘kuia’ or ‘koroua’, but reflecting back, I realise it was probably all that some of these old people had, sometimes.
Many of our families had very few material possessions, and were denied so many of the luxuries we enjoy today, and yet what I remember most vividly was the ring of laughter, song and music, the obvious happiness we shared as a people, because of the abundance of aroha—goodwill. There was a deep appreciation and respect for the human element above all things, the laws of conservation, including the natural environment and resources. Mind you, seeing other people's problems has made me realise all these things. I was one of the young people who took the elders and what they stood for, for granted.
The best traditions and values of the Maori culture including the language (old New Zealand heritage), together with the worthwhile values, traditions, modern technology and skills brought in by other cultural and racial groups (new New Zealand heritage) may help to eradicate some of the human conflict and insecurity facing many of us today. We as New Zealanders in this multi-racial society need an identity that will give us a sense of unity, a sense of national pride, security, achievement and progress, in human, rather than material terms".
Rose has been strongly influenced by teachings that go back over 12,000 years. Her book Te Wheke - A Celebration Of Infinite Wisdom, is an introduction to these teachings. Rose has been on lecture tours on Te Wheke throughout Europe, including Germany, Austria and Italy. She has represented Aotearoa New Zealand internationally as an educationalist; written a monograph called AKO: Concepts and Learning in The M?ori Tradition; held a Visiting Teacher Fellowship at the University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand in 1982; taught from preschool to tertiary; and researched ancient teachings in the Americas, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Great Britain, East Asia and the South Pacific.
Rose is a holder of the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal and was honoured as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire 1996. She attained a Doctorate of Literature at Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand 1996. Rose has her own consultancy called Ao Ako which focuses on global learning. She is also a Director of the Four Winds Foundation - an international body that works with indigenous and non-indigenous people.
