Of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Wai descent, Titewhai was an outspoken political commentator and civil rights campaigner who spent decades at the forefront of the Māori rights movement. A fierce and unapologetic presence at Waitangi, she held Prime Ministers to account on behalf of her people and helped breathe life into te reo Māori through her work with Ngā Tamatoa in the 1970s. A mother of eight, with 70 mokopuna and 25 great-great-grandchildren, she spent her entire life fighting for Māori rights, wāhine rights, and social justice. Moe mai rā e te whaea.