Toa and the Wero: The Gang and Community Contract Ko Tū a Waho, ko Rongo a Roto. Tū Outside, Rongo Inside

ABSTRACT

This article is about the gang-community contract in Aotearoa New Zealand, and asks whether the patch can be used for good. To date, little academic attention has been given to the role that predominantly Māori patched street gangs occupy in their communities or the role that re-Indigenisation plays in the trajectory of community-based work by such groups. Using the wero (challenge) as a metaphor for the gang-community contract, a study of gang membership is applied to assess notions of toa (warrior) and the warrior culture, while asking whether such contemporary expressions and embodiment of toa can be used in the form of gang membership for the betterment of the broader society;essentially using the patch for good. Through the application of two Māori concepts-toa and wero-as metaphor, this article will explore the relationship between contemporary expressions of the toa and the challenges they face in the current climate of socioeconomic inequality and COVID-19. Lastly, this article provides a case study of the Black Power Movement Whakatane chapter to identify processes of re-Indigenisation and the role the patch plays in restoring the mana of marginalised communities.