Sunrise is a familiar cycle for all humans. For Māori, it reflects the birth of te ao Mārama (the world of light). Our ancient stories were handed down to each generation and in many cases, casting a new light on their meaning through our ancestors different experiences. These stories were converted into practical learnings to enable us to adapt to change and explore the world. Our earliest Māori ancestors drew on the stories of our atua (gods) to map navigational circuits in the scattered lights across the night skies, enabling them to sail across Asia, through the Pacific and eventually to discover Aotearoa. 

The sun has risen more than 65,000 times since the first Māori Chiefs signed He Whakaputanga on 28 October 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi on 6 February 1840. Where once hapū led trading posts and Māori owned enterprises fed new settlers arriving in Aotearoa, the annexation of Māori sovereignty that followed and the mass expropriation of tribally owned and managed lands and resources eventually extinguished many of the fires that connected Māori to their lands and to each other.

Despite the promise then of peace and prosperity, it would take more than 150 years for the resurgence of the Māori economy and the widespread reignition of Māori trade and trade practices.

Globally, Indigenous and Tribal peoples continue to endure the harm and devastation wrought by colonisation and its venerated child corporate globalisation. However, global shifts and crises are changing the way that many organisations are not just doing business but what their business does.

With the international call to action for sustainable, inclusive economic prosperity from governments around the world, Indigenous Peoples are increasingly amplifying their expectations to be included as active participants and decision makers in the reimagining and redesigning of the worlds trade and economic architecture.  

As such, building solidarity within and between cultures, communities, industry, media, governments, and international organisations is more important now than ever. We view solidarity as necessary to achieving peaceful co-existence with each other, with the earth, and with the ecosystems she supports.