Te Hokioi

Ko Te Hōkioi te ingoa o tēnei tārai; koia te īkara taketake o Aotearoa e korehāhā ināianei, ā, koia hoki te īkara nui rawa atu o te ao. Ko taua manu te mana nui o te rangi, ā, he mea whakamataku, he mea whakamīharo hoki, i ngā kōrero tuku iho. Ko tā Brett Graham *Te Hōkioi*, 2008 he rererangi torohaki F117 Nighthawk e ūhia ana ki te hoahoa whakairo e kīia nei te rauru, e kōpikopiko ai, e kōriporipo ai a runga i te rererangi ānō nei ko te hau e pīkarikari ana. Ko Te Hōkioi te ingoa o te nūpepa Tainui-Waikato hoki i *Te Hokioi e Rere Atu Na*, he nūpepa i whakatūria ai i te tau 1861 hei pānui tautoko i te Kīngitanga ki te kaupare i ngā tito a ngā hōia Koroniara i a rātou e urutomo ana, e whānako ana i ngā whenua o ngā iwi i ngā tau 1845-1872.

I hangaia tēnei toi *Te Hōkioi* hei urupare ki ngā whakaekeeke a ngā pirihimana i Rūātoki i te tau 2007 i raro i te mauri o te ture Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. Ko tā tēnei toi a Graham, he huritao, he momo urupare ki ngā kauhanga riri maha a ngā hōia koroniara ki te iwi Māori.

This sculpture is named after Te Hōkioi, the extinct eagle endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand and the largest eagle species known. This bird of prey ruled the skies and is both feared and revered in Māori oral histories. Brett Graham’s *Te Hōkioi*, 2008 takes the form of a military F117 Nighthawk jet plane, covered in the traditional carving pattern of the rauru spiral which twists and swirls like wind across the upper surface of the plane. Te Hōkioi was also the name of the Tainui-Waikato tribal newspaper *Te Hokioi e Rere Atu Na – The Soaring War Bird*, established in 1861. The pro-Kingitanga (Māori King movement) publication combated propaganda from the British and Colonial troops as they invaded and confiscated Māori tribal lands from 1845 to 1872.

*Te Hōkioi* was created in response to the 2007 police raids on the Tūhoe community of Ruātoki, for which the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 provided legal grounds. Graham’s work offers a stealth response to the numerous campaigns waged by colonial forces against Māori. (Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, 2020)

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