From (2024)

Rotorua singer and songwriter Nikau Grace's Pākehā colouring meant her Māori identity was never 'visible' to others. She was teased at school and told to take off her taonga. Written at 15 years of age, the mantra of heartfelt bilingual waiata 'Tōkū Tuakiri' (translating to 'My Identity') got Grace "through a lot of hard times". In this video Grace lives up to her stage name, delivering her bilingual waiata proudly while wearing a greenstone taonga. Grace is joined in her soaring chorus by off-screen voices from the Rotorua Accelerando Programme, adding to the song's gospel-fuelled message of inner resolve.