Tatau: The women keeping Sāmoan tattoo alive in Grey Lynn | Still Here

By Four and Five Films

“I think it’s important for us [Samoans] to continue the legacy of living, working and maintaining a presence in Central Auckland because of the strong Pasifika history in this area.”

Where Sāmoans go, the tradition of tatau will follow. Working from her family home studio in Grey Lynn, renowned tatau practitioner Tyla Vaeau marks Ana of the Tele family weaving two stories of aiga, identity and fa’a Sāmoa.

In 1971, 45 percent of Auckland’s Pasifika population lived in the inner-city.

Now, they’re fewer than 2 per cent. Through the eyes of Pacific youth and their families, this four part docu-series celebrates the small but mighty Pasifika community in inner-city Auckland who have remained despite decades of rampant gentrification. Each episode weaves intergenerational stories of family, community and culture dispelling the myth that “all the Islanders have left.”

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“We don’t care if you offered us a billion dollars. That means nothing to us."

Tatau: The women keeping Sāmoan tattoo alive in Grey Lynn | Still Here

Watch the fourth episode of our new docuseries, Still Here.

Still Here

Through the eyes of Pacific youth and their families, this four part docu-series celebrates the small but mighty Pasifika community in inner-city Auckland who have remained despite decades of rampant gentrification.

Read2

Opinion: Our inner-city Auckland was a slice of Polynesia

"Samoan writer Albert Wendt once said “our people wake the city”."

Still Here: Celebrating the Pasifika families of Central Auckland

Meet the people behind the project, and take a look at some the photos from the launch night.

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