This story includes a tribute to Moana Jackson in te reo from Ngāti Kahungunu 

Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson has been welcomed onto Matahiwi Marae in Hawke's Bay as mourners gather for his tangi. 

Jackson arrived at Matahiwi Marae at Clive, between Napier and Hastings, about 10.15am on Friday with an entourage of about 100 people, who met the 200 already gathered. 

He will lie in state on the marae until a final service and burial on Sunday beside his mother Jane (nee Cunningham) and brother Syd, who died in 2007. 

Jackson passed away on Thursday in Waimana, in Te Urewera, Bay of Plenty. 

Ngāti Kahungunu issued a statement on Friday advising mourners that there are no vaccination mandates in place for the tangi, but mourners are encouraged to wear masks. 

Traditional hongi, and physical greetings will not take place. 

"There will be no hongi or hariru. All proceedings will be held outside on the ātea to ensure there is no restriction on numbers of mourners at any one time,'' the iwi says. 

Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou and Rongomaiwahine) is revered within Maoridom as an expert and leader who helped whānau, hapū and iwi make decisions about their development. 

Ngāti Kahungunu paid tribute to him on Friday. 

"He was an expert in Te Tiriti, indigenous rights, tikanga, law and history and used his skills as an educator, motivator, facilitator and advocate to help all people understand colonisation and the impact it has had on Aotearoa,'' an iwi statement said. 

"His report, "He Whaipaanga Hou" published in 1988, was well ahead of its time, providing solutions to help shape the criminal justice system so that it works fairly not just for Māori, but for all New Zealanders. 

"It was the product of his work as Director of He Kaiwhakamārama i Ngā Ture, and hundreds of interviews with people who knew the justice system and its impact particularly on whānau. He was recently completing a review of that publication. 

"Moana played a leading role in helping to shape the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At one stage, he led the working group that was tasked with putting the draft together. 

"He was in constant demand as a keynote speaker at conferences, Waitangi Tribunal and court hearings for his expertise in international human rights, tino rangatiratanga and social justice. 

 
HE MAIMAI AROHA NĀ NGĀTI KAHUNGUNU KI A DR. MOANA JACKSON 
Moana e! Nei koe e uhia nei ki ngā kupu whakaatua a te motu. Waiho mā ngā iwi koe e whakanui, heoi anō tā Kahungunu he whakamārama i ō mahi huhua me te whakamahuki ake i te āhua o tō takotoranga ki tō marae. 

He uri a Dr. Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson nō Ngāti Kahungunu, nō Ngāti Porou me Rongomaiwahine. Kua nui tāna whakatauira ake i tēnei mea, i te rangatira, i roto i tōna ao mā tana āwhina i ngā whānau, i ngā hapū, i ngā iwi me ā rātau whakatau e pā ana ki tō rātau whanaketanga. 

He mātanga ki ngā āhuatanga o te Tiriti, ki ngā tika o te tangata whenua, ki ngā tikanga ki te whenua me ngā hītori. Whakamahia ai e ia ōna pūkenga mātauranga hai akiaki, hai whakahaere, hai wawao anō hoki i ngā tāngata katoa kia mārama ai rātau ki te tāmitanga me tōna pānga ki a Aotearoa nei. 

I whakaputaina rā tāna pūrongo, He Whaipaanga Hou, i te tau 1988 me te aha he tōmua. He urupare te pūrongo rā i āwhina ai i te whakairotanga o te ture e tōkeke ai, kaua anake ki te Māori, engari ki a Aotearoa whānui. He hua nā tana tū hai Kaitohu mō He Kaiwhakamārama i Ngā Ture me ngā rau uiui i te hunga e mōhio ana ki te pūnaha ture me tōna pānga ki ngā whānau. Nō nā tata nei i te arotaketia e ia taua whakaputanga rā. 

Nā āna tuhinga i te wā o te panonitanga ā-ture ki Te Kōpaki Pūtea a te Kāwanatanga me te Takutaimoana, i mārama ai te iwi ki tā te Kāwanatanga here i te Māori. Nā te māramatanga rā i taea ai e Aotearoa te porotēhi me te kukume mai i te aronga o te ao ki ngā mahi tāmi o nāianei a te Kāwanatanga. 

Dr Moana Jackson's expertise is revered within Māoridom . Photo / File 

Nō te tau 2016, he mea ārahi e Moana te tīma nā rātau a Matike Mai Aotearoa i whakaputa. He mahere panoni i ngā whakahaere Kāwanatanga. Ā mohoa nei, he puka tūāpapa tēnei mā te hunga whai i te tohu i Aotearoa nei, ā, he mina nui kai te whakaputanga nei e tōkeke ai te āpōpō ki te Māori, otirā, ki a Aotearoa whānui. 

He nui te wāhi ki a Moana i roto i te whakairotanga o te United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He wā tōna i arahina e ia te rōpū mahi nā rātau te pīkaunga nui kia tuhia te tuhinga hukihuki. He rite tonu te tonoa ōna hai kaikōrero matua ki ngā hui, ki ngā whakawātanga a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi me ērā kōti anō hoki i runga i tōna mōhio ki ngā tika tangata o te ao, ki te tino rangatiratanga me te tika ā-pāpori. 

He tangata māhaki, he tangata hūmārie anō hoki a Moana. Kua whakanau atu ia i ngā whakahōnoretanga ōkawa tūmatanui. I kapohia tōna hūmārie i tētahi kōrero mōna i roto i tētahi whakaputanga "He pai ki a Moana te kōrero pūrākau ki āna mokopuna, mā āna mokopuna anō hoki, ā, e mina ana a ia kia pakeke mai rātau i tētahi whenua e noho tūāpapa ana te Tiriti ki te whakaute i ngā hononga tōrangapū. Ka whai mai ko ētahi atu pūrākau anō". Imagining Decolonisation (2020).