huia e huia tangata kotahi

huia your purpose is to bring people together

The above whakataukī (Māori proverb) calls us to work together and build strong complementary relationships so that everyone can succeed.

The huia was known to be a friendly bird, committed to lifelong relationships. The female huia has a curved beak, the male a shorter, straighter beak. 

The male used his short beak to break into rotting wood, and the female would reach down with her long beak to get a huhu grub from its hiding place. By working together they found sufficient food to eat, and created the relationship needed to thrive. 

Due to hunting and habitat loss, the huia has been extinct since the early 1900’s, but the taonga (treasure) of this little bird remains crucial in our communities today. 

The song of this little bird can live on, when we lift up our voices to speak about
who-we-are:

Huia People, working together to create a world
in which everyone can thrive.