Kua whakamaharatia te whakaekenga atu o Ruapekapeka i ngā tau 174 ki muri. Taka mai ki tēnei rā, ko te mamae, te mauri me te tapu o te pā tawhito kei te mau tonu ki te whenua, otirā ki roto i ngā uri whakaheke a ngā tīpuna i pakanga.
"I te pō i pakanga au ki ngā Atua o te pō, kīhai au i mate. Nā reira takahia te riri ki raro i ō koutou waewae, mau ki te whakapono. Ina kore, he poi Pākeha koutou ā muri ake nei."
Ko ngā kupu ēnā a Kawiti i whakahuahuatia e Tohe Ashby (Ngāti Te Tarawa) ki Ruapekapeka i te ata nei hei tohu whakamaharatanga mō te pakanga.
"Kua tae mai i runga i te pā o tō tātou tupuna a Kawiti me ana rangatira, a Mataroria, a Te Aho, a Tauramoko. Ko ērā ngā rangatira i noho ki tana taha ki te pakanga. I pakanga ō tātou tūpuna mō te aha? Mō tātou kē te take, mō ngā uri whakatupu."
Arā ētahi nō iwi kē atu e whakamānawa nei i te kaupapa o te rā.
"It's important to know that our people shed their blood for our sovereignty, for our independence, for our customs and our customs are beautiful. And if we can enliven our customs again, that will give us mana across this whole country," tā Tio Faulkner nō Ngāi Te Rangi.
1500 ngā hōia, ngā heramana me ngā kūpapa hoki i te taha o ngā koti whero i whakaeke i te pa o Ruapekapeka.
Ko ngā kōrero tuku iho e whakapūmautia ana e ngā uri, pērā i a Pita Tipene.
"E rua wiki e hamahama ana i ngā taiepa o te pā, ko ngā tāngata kei roto, i te kaha mokemoke mo ō rātou whānau. Ko ngā kahiwi e tū mai nei nā, i reira kē ngā wāhine, ngā kuia, ngā kaumātua me ngā tamariki katoa e huna ana i ngā Pākeha. Engari kei a rātou ētahi tohu kia mōhio ai ngā tāngata kei roto i te pā, e ora tonu ana anō rātou. I hurahia ō rātou korowai, ka huraina ki runga, ki raro kia mōhio ai ngā tāngata kei roto i te pā, e ora tonu ana anō rātou. I reira ka whakaingoatia, ko Ōkaroro, e pēnei ana i ngā parirau o ngā karoro."
"Ko te mamae, te mana, te mauri, te tapu o tēnei takiwā i heke mai ki roto i ngā whakatupuranga, kei roto tonu i ngā uri," te tangi a Hone Taimona o Ngāti Korokoro.
"Me te kōrero katoa o te takiwā nei, kaua koutou e mutu ki konei nē. I roto i tēnei tau hōu e kōrerohia he tau hōu tēnei, me kaha te titiro ki ngā pae o te moana. Kia kaha ki te pupuri i tō tāua tino mana motuhake, mana tino rangatiratanga, ērā mana."
Nō ngā tau tata nei, kātahi anō ka kite i ngā poka o ngā hoia pākeha i hinga ki tēnei wāhi. E ai ki ngā kōrero, ko te nuinga o ngā toa Māori i hinga i roto i te pā, i kawea atu e ō rātou whanaunga ki roto ki ngā torero, engari e mea ana te kōrero, kei konei tonu ētahi.
"Ko te hiahia kia whakatūngia i tētahi pou, i tētahi kōhatu hei whakamahara ake i a rātou i te mea, ko ngā tāngata katoa o tēnei wāhi, i heke iho mai i ngā rangatira Māori, ngā tāngata kei roto i te pā, arā ki ngā tāngata i waho i te pā, arā ko ngā Pākeha," te kōrero anō a Tipene.
"Kia kaua rawa e warewaretia ēnei momo pakanga katoa. Ehara ko Ruapekapeka noa iho, engari ko ngā pakanga katoa i roto i Te Taitokerau, puta noa i te motu i patere ai te toto mō te mea kotahi, arā te tino rangatiratanga."
Ko te mea nui kē i ēnei rā, kia kōrerohia ngā hītori katoa, kia mōhio ai te katoa.
He pūrongo nā Dean Nathan mā Te Ao.