Tama Tūranga Huata (15 April 1950 – 11 February 2015) was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

performing arts leader in New Zealand.

Biography

Born in 1950 of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

and

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...

descent, Huata was the third son of

Wiremu Te Tau Huata Wiremu is a masculine given name, the Māori language, Māori form of William. Notable people with the name include: People with given name Wiremu * Aaron Cruden, Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 1989), New Zealand rugby union player * Wiremu Doherty, New ...

—a chaplain to the

Māori Battalion The 28th (Māori) Battalion, more commonly known as the Māori Battalion (), was a light infantry battalion of the New Zealand Army that served during the Second World War. The battalion was formed following pressure on the Labour government ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

—and Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana. His maternal grandfather was

Paraire Tomoana Paraire "Friday" Henare Tomoana (died 15 April 1946) was a Māori political leader, journalist, historian, sportsman, and lyricist of the Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Te Whatu-i-Āpiti tribes. Born either in Waipatu or Pakowhai near Hastings, he ...

, the composer of " Pokarekare Ana". Huata was a central figure in the renaissance of the Māori performing arts. In 1983 he founded the Kahurangi Dance Theatre and Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu (the Takitimu Performing Arts School), and was responsible for the establishment there of the first degree programme in Māori performing arts. In 1985 he was a group leader at the ''

Te Maori ''Te Maori'' (or sometimes ''Te Māori'' in modern sources) was a landmark exhibition of Māori art (taonga) that toured the United States from 1984 to 1986, and New Zealand as '' Te Maori: Te Hokinga Mai'' ('the return home') from 1986 to 1987 ...

'' exhibition in San Francisco. Awarded a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

in 1995, Huata travelled to the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

to study African history and dance. Huata was the inaugural chair of

Te Matatini Te Matatini is a nationwide Māori performing arts festival and competition for kapa haka performers from all of New Zealand and Australia. The name was given by Professor Wharehuia Milroy, a composite of meaning "face" and denoting "many" � ...

Society, and founder of the Waiata Māori Music Awards in 2007. In the

2006 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before th ...

, Huata was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to Māori performing arts. In 2012, he received Te Tohu Toi Kē (the "Making a Difference" award) from

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government established in 1963. It invests in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes a ...

at Te Waka Toi Awards, for his significant contribution to the development and retention of Māori arts and culture. Huata died at his home in Napier in 2015.

References

1950 births 2015 deaths Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāti Porou people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{Māori-bio-stub