As a crowd gathered in Dunedin today to support the Ihumātao land protests in Auckland, a local student explained why the protests are so important to her.
About 200 demonstrators gathered in Dunedin this afternoon to support the Ihumātao protests happening in Auckland, briefly stopping traffic on State Highway 1.
A crowd gathered just after 12pm outside Otago Museum and included members of Otago University's Maori students' association, Te Roopu Maori and the Green Party, as well as members of the public, The Otago Daily Times reports.
Some protestors stopped traffic momentarily blocking State Highway 1 at the intersection of Albany and Cumberland Sts for about 10 minutes before they left voluntarily.
Inspector Wil Black of Dunedin Police says the three-hour protest was peaceful and they are pleased with the behaviour of demonstrators.
"We will continue to liaise with organisers for any future similar protests to ensure the safety of all those involved," he said.
Queen's High School student, Arwen Brown-Davis, says the Dunedin event is important to show support and recognition to the Ihumātao protests.
"Though it might have happened a long time ago, we were colonised a long time ago. It think that colonisation hasn’t stopped, we are still in a colonial system. Māori are in the worst percentages for so many things," she says.
"We are tangata whenua but we can’t be tangata whenua without our land," she says.
"Every part of land that we get back is part of our life. It’s so important," she says.
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