Talia Ellison

Talia has a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Otago. Her summer projected looked at the impact that WWII, and the acquisition of ancestral land had on Ngāti Puketapu ki Paraparaumu. The land was taken for the purposes of a war-time aerodrome, but became an airport and the land was never returned. The hapū identity is based on the grievance of land alienation and a lack of recognition of their mana by the Crown in its dealings with the airport. The main objective was to create an oriori, as a means of transmitting culturally significant knowledge, and reclaiming cultural identity.

Talia wanted to be involved in the Hau Kāinga project as a way of honouring her Puketapu tūpuna and reconnecting with her whānau in Paraparaumu.