Ko Tahu, Ko Au: Kāi Tahu Tribal Identity—Hana O’Regan (2001)
This research investigates the development of pan-Māori identity and how it has manifested itself within New Zealand society, focusing specifically on how Kāi Tahu identity is largely a product of its circumstances.
Publication details
O’Regan, H. Ko Tahu, Ko Au: Kāi Tahu Tribal Identity. Christchurch: Horomaka Publishing, 2001.
About the book
Hana O’Regan’s Ko Tahu Ko Au (2001) is an affirmation of Kāi Tahu tribal identity prevailing over forces which, at times, have denied their very existence. O’Regan (Kāi Tahu) investigates the development of pan-Māori identity and how it has manifested itself within New Zealand society, focusing specifically on how Kāi Tahu identity is largely a product of its circumstances.
Weaving stories of eight prominent Kāi Tahu interviewed for this publication with events in national and tribal history and politics, O’Regan explores the struggle of a people for the right to determine their identity on their own terms. Ko Tahu, Ko Au thought provokingly examines how the unique southern environment and the choices Kāi Tahu people have made, have profoundly affected the shape and nature of Kāi Tahu identity.
Further information
This publication is part of the series Te Takarangi: Celebrating Māori publications - a sample list of 150 non-fiction books produced by a partnership between Royal Society Te Apārangi and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga.