Quote by Patricia Grace: “Our land is our identity, our spirit, our continuity.”

Grace articulates the profound, inseparable connection between the Māori people, their ancestral lands, and their very sense of self. This quote emphasizes land as the foundation of cultural and spiritual existence.

Grace's novel 'Potiki' explores Māori identity and the struggle against land confiscation and cultural erosion. This quote reflects the spiritual and practical significance of *whenua* (land) to Māori.

New Zealand Māori author and the first Māori woman to publish a novel in English, with Mutuwhenua appearing in 1978. Her fiction centres on Māori family and community life and the enduring connection between people and land. She received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2008.