Te Uranga Lee Belk and Piripi Winiata started their careers as lawyers. Photo / Supplied
Piripi Winiata (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa) and Te Uranga Lee Belk (Te Tai Tokerau, Waikato, Te Kāhui Mounga) are the directors of Kawea Law and Consultancy Limited (Kawea).
Piripi and Te Uranga started their careers as lawyers. They worked across community law, justice and criminal litigation in West and South Auckland. In seeing the hugely disproportionate number of Māori in court, they formed an intimate understanding of the challenges Māori face in systems that are not designed to work for Māori.
Piripi and Te Uranga later took their advocacy skills and moved into system change work. They were involved in law, Māori-focused policy and strategy work across iwi, the private sector and the public sector.
They have two staff members, Paige Scruton-Nepe Apatu (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngā Rauru Kītahi) and Maia Birkett (Tūhoe, Ngāti Tūwharetoa).
As directors of Kawea, they continue to work on system change with a focus on creating real and meaningful outcomes for iwi and Māori. The work spans providing advice and guidance to organisations on strategy, policy and capability.
Currently, Te Uranga is deputy treasury solicitor and legal manager at Te Tai Ōhanga – The Treasury.
Piripi is supporting an independent group that is engaging on the future of Māori education, working with Internet New Zealand on a Te Tiriti centric strategy, and providing advice around the Reform of Vocational Education and the new responsibilities in the Education and Training Act.
Piripi and Te Uranga both also work in the language revitalisation space with Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Uranga's iwi; both have a strong passion for te reo Māori and tikanga.
The term "Kawea" means to bear, take up, or carry – it speaks to the ethos of Kawea, which is about its people carrying their culture, language, customs, ways of being, and ways of thought with them in all of the work that they do.
Kawea supports organisations to uphold Māori rights and interests and work towards a better Aotearoa for everyone.
Both have been hugely influenced by their kaumātua and whānau. They are both second-language learners who grew up in urban cities, Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington) and Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).
Their mothers (both teachers) were first in each respective whānau to pursue tertiary education as adults and saw this as a way to improve the lives of their tamariki and mokopuna.
Te Uranga reflects on the people she comes from, firstly in Te Tai Tokerau, Ngāti Hine, who have a saying: "Tuatahi, me whakaiti te tangata, tuarua, me tino whakaiti, tuatoru me tino whakaiti rawa atu!" Their meaning of whakaiti goes beyond humility and refers to the ability to reflect before taking action – that's not to say she doesn't dissent from time to time, she does!
Secondly, her Tainui people, particularly her koroua Mita Taupopoki Jack Pai who reminds her – kia rangatira te kawe, ahakoa te aha – to be exemplary, to be graceful, in all circumstances.
Lastly, her people of Taranaki and Tūwharetoa, who taught her about the pursuit of excellence in service, because our people deserve nothing less.
Piripi often reflects too on a saying from his people: "he wawata te kōura i kore ai" – a dream with no action will always remain a dream.
Outside their direct whānau, some of their key teachers include Te Tokotoru a Paewhiti, Te Wharehuia Milroy, Tā Pou Tēmara and Tā Tīmoti Kāretu in particular who instilled an expectation of excellence in any undertaking.
Pania Papa, Dr Wayne Ngata, Moe Milne, Corin Merrick and Hinewehi Mohi are also people they look up to for the ways in which they carry themselves, their people and their kaupapa.
As lawyers, they're also avid readers of Māori legal and constitutional academics like Moana Jackson, Annette Sykes, Judge Joe Williams and Ani Mikaere.
Ultimately, they see the many tamariki Māori in their lives as their biggest motivation. They want to help shape a world that sees them and all of their infinite potential to succeed in the world as Māori.
Piripi talks about one of their guiding whakatauāki: "Kia angitu te Māori, kia Māori hoki te angitu – For Māori to succeed and for that success to be defined by Māori." That's really all there is to it – being humble, putting in the work, and supporting Māori to succeed.