My whakapapa saved my life | Karyn Paringatai | TEDxDunedin

How many of you know the names of your grandparents? Great grandparents? Great great grandparents? For most of us, their pictures are something to flick through at family gatherings. For Karyn, her whakapapa was the key to saving her life.
Karyn grew up in Invercargill away from her family roots on the East coast of New Zealand.
As a lecturer at the University of Otago, she has received multiple honours and awards for the work she has done in reviving the Maori culture and language. Her practice of teaching her students in the dark, as utilised by Maori years ago, has started a widespread conversation among academics about ancient forms of learning.
Karyn never had much connection to her family until later in life, but the process of finding herself and where she came from saved Karyn’s life, as you’ll hear her talk about at TEDxDunedin.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx