He pitopito kōrero:
Nau mai, haere mai ki te tangi a te ruru.
(Welcome to the Cry of the Ruru)
The ruru is the native owl or morepork found in Aotearoa. Traditionally owls feature in many stories across cultures. They are the nocturnal presence often linked to knowledge and wisdom. In Māori accounts, they arrive to us from the underworld and are both good and bad omens. They act as kaitiaki (guardians) that are ever watching, while most of us are asleep. In some cases, their cry is one of forewarning, signalling danger or death.
The cry of the ruru can be both comforting and unsettling. It is an otherwordly call that comes from another time and place that pierces into the current moment. It is unapologetic and omnipresent.
This virtual library is a home for political writings that may struggle to be heard elsewhere. We centre the voices of indigenous writers and people of colour who are signalling warnings in a time of colonial capitalism, and calling for otherworlds to be birthed.
Tēnā koutou katoa, 大家好, warm greetings
We are Kassie and MZ, the creators of this platform. We have envisioned this as an online space to share our writings, to share your writings that speak to the growing urgency of leadership from marginalised communities, to tell stories of solidarity, to honour the histories, presents, and futures that refuse to be erased and buried.
We have both been youth workers and community organisers, with shared obsessions with fantasy worlds of magic and superpowers that defeat fascist villains. We are interested in strategies, in healing, in collective care and responsibility.
Te Tangi a Te Ruru is a queer-powered anti-colonial political platform has been incubating for a while now. It was birthed from a need based on our community organising across various social movements struggling against violence and injustice.
Kassie is of Ngāti Raukawa and Pākehā (NZ European) descent, and is based in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (The Great Pacific Ocean of Kiwa).
MZ was born in Northern China, grew up in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and is currently residing in Tkaronto (Toronto), which is the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat.
We want to thank and acknowledge Oventi for his support and help with this website!
Te Tangi A Te Ruru 