Ko Jay rāua ko Erin Ruka ngā mata i muri a Huia Come Home, ā, e mahitahi ana rāua kia whakaohooho ngā ahurea tuakiri me whakamanawa tonu ai te manapou o te Hahi o Aotearoa ki te mahi ngātahi. Mō ngā tau e maha, e hanga rāua ngā wheako o te mahi o ngā kaikorero matua hāpori me te Kaihautūtanga hahi me haere i āna kōtahi i tēnei ao hurihuri.

Ko Jay (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Puhi) te kaituhi o Huia Come Home, te Kākākura o Mere Tapu – Te Whare Karakia Nui o Taranaki, me te Manuhautū o Te Manu Hononga – Pūtahi Tā Pāora Reeves. E whakatika ai a Erin i ngā kupu me ngā aroro me awhinatia te whakairo o Huia Come Home. E noho ana rāua me ā rāua tāmariki e toru, he kurī, me tētahi ngeru kei Taranaki, Aotearoa.

I tuhi a Jay i a Huia Come Home kia uruparengia he moemoeā o Erin i te tau 2008. Kei roto i tana moemoeā, kua kitea he heihei tāroa i tāmaru ai he rākau Pōhutukawa, a kua rangona te kupu “huia”. Nā te nuinga o te heihei, kua katakata a Erin, ā, nō tōna hononga ki Amerika, kāore ia i te mōhio te māramatanga o te kupu “huia”. Engari, nā taua moemoeā, i ruia mai he kākāno e taua ata, ā, te timatanga o tētahi haerenga kia hura ai te ārai o te māoritanga me tōna herenga ki Aotearoa me whai anō ko te toi pūmau tā te iwi taketake.

Kāore te heihei nō Aotearoa – nō tāwāhi ke. Pērā i te heihei whakahara i taua moemoeā, ka whakatuanui ahurea Pākēhā kei te horanuku, e momonā ake ia mō tōna ora. Otirā, ko ngā Huia te manu tapu o Aotearoa: ko te ariki tauroa me te ariki tapairu o te wao tuauri, ā, ka mutu he tohu mana mō ngā iwi Māori me te iwi Pākehā hoki. He hanga aroha ana nā te mea kua ngaro tēnei taonga o Aotearoa. Kua korehāhā ngā Huia.

Kua hanga māua i te kīanga, “hoki mai ngā huia,” he karanga kia whakahaumanu i te whakaarotau o te ahurea toi ki tā tātou whenua, ka puta ai i tā māua tūmanako ki te Kaihanga Ariki e whakaora ana i te katoa o ngā mea pai me ngā mea pono.

Ko Huia Ministries he tōpūtanga o Aotearoa, e mahi ana ki te whakapiki o Te Rongopai hurinoa o Aotearoa.

Jay and Erin Ruka are the faces behind Huia Come Home and work together to inspire cultural identity and encourage the Church’s role in reconciliation. Both have many years of experience as public communicators and Church leadership and do life as a team.

Jay (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Puhi) is the author of Huia Come Home, Dean of Mere Tapu Cathedral & director of Te Manu Hononga – Sir Paul Reeves Centre. Erin edits words and ideas, helping to craft Huia Come Home. They live with their three children, dog, and cat in Taranaki, Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Jay wrote Huia Come Home as a response to a dream Erin had back in 2008. In the dream she saw an enormous chicken overshadowing a Pōhutukawa tree and heard the word “huia”. The oversized chicken made her laugh and being American she had no idea what “huia” meant. But that imagery sparked something and began a journey to discover what it means to belong to Aotearoa; and why indigeneity is so important.

The chicken isn’t from New Zealand – it’s imported. And like the giant chicken in the dream, Western culture now dominates the landscape, a bit too big for its own good. On the other hand, Huia are the most sacred birds of Aotearoa; king and queen of the ancient forests and a symbol of honour for both Māori and Pākehā. Tragically this national treasure has been lost. The Huia is now extinct.

We’ve coined the phrase “Huia Come Home” as a call to revitalise indigenous precedence in our land, expressing our hope that God is working to restore all things good and true.

Huia Ministries is a registered New Zealand charity, working for the advancement of Te Rongopai throughout Aotearoa.