The name of this project is Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au which translates directly as I am the river and the river is me. This is an expression that the ancestors of the tribes of Whanganui used to say as they travelled the river. It reflects both on my own experience of living within a tribal community along the Whanganui River in an area known as the King Country on the North Island of New Zealand, as well as represents Maori’s spiritual connection to their ancestral land.