"Be ruthless in your pursuit for change." - On Service, Legacy and Intergenerational Collaboration

“It’s about time,” remarked one League kuia upon hearing that Graeson Papuni-Mclellan had made the 2026 Y25 cohort.

The achievement feels like a lifetime in the making - even if she didn't realise it at the time. To Graeson, a commitment to service wasn’t something thrust upon her or forced with a heavy hand, but was a quiet, solid standard set by her whānau.

Born and bred in Ōpōtiki on the East Coast, Graeson proudly holds connections to Te Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pahauwera, Samoa, and Mauke (Akatokamanava).

Yet, she reflects that these connections weren't always as obvious. Having not grown up on her own marae she credits the hāpori that surrounded her as the stronghold to Māori values and ways of life. "I received all the best 'tanga's' growing up," she says, referring to values like manaakitanga, kotahitanga, and whakawhanaungatanga. 

"To be honest it was in my Māori Women’s Welfare League peka that I really learnt what service to my whānau and community looked like"

Which she has her mama and late kuia to thank for that. Founded in 1951, the Māori Women’s Welfare League’s history and whakapapa are woven directly into Graeson’s family tree through their three generations of involvement.

"I was probably just a pēpi on my mama's hip when I first started attending hui," she recalls.

For Graeson, those early days were about playing with her cousins and helping out in the kitchen. Over time, that involvement deepened - moving from preparing refreshments to leading karakia and hīmene to start hui.

"Service isn't about recognition or titles, it's about showing up for people, building relationships, and leaving your community stronger than how you found it."

Before long, serving tea to the nannies and aunties turned into serving on the League’s executive boards, first as its inaugural youth member, and now as its youngest national executive member.

It is a progression rooted in a simple lesson: "Service isn't about recognition or titles," Graeson says. "It's about showing up for people, building relationships, and leaving your community stronger than how you found it."

That philosophy eventually carried her far beyond the borders of the East Cape. And as a representative for the League, Graeson was sent to New York to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. An experience she describes as a total "moemoeā moment."

"I remember standing in the entrance of the UN Headquarters, taking a moment to think, 'Holy Nan, I made it. I'm going to bring our community’s voice to delegates from all over the world.'"

While her first trip in 2024 was focused on observing and taking in the dialogue, her return the following year saw her fully at the center of the action. Alongside National President Dr. Hope Tupara, Graeson helped write and present oral statements, lead the League’s youth delegation, and speak as a keynote presenter at the Women Deliver conference launch.

"That’s the reality of being a fully participating delegate at these global forums - you have to move fast just to keep up with the kōrero," she explains. "But I loved having a real voice and being an author of potential change at that level."

This drive for systemic change didn’t stay overseas however; not long after that first trip, she brought that fire back home and straight to the heart of the Waitangi Tribunal. At the invitation of Dr. Tupara, Graeson presented evidence for the landmark Mana Wāhine Inquiry - a claim establishing the disenfranchisement of wāhine and tamariki authority at the hands of colonisation.

"I remember seeing my name next to the names of the original claimants, and I was like, ‘wow, is this even real?’" Graeson reflects. "I felt a deep responsibility to wāhine Māori to share my story - showing how the League has been pivotal in my life in such positive ways. My contribution is simply one piece of that collective effort, but I hope it helps create pathways for younger wāhine to be heard, to lead confidently, and to see themselves reflected in decision-making spaces."

For all the global stages and executive boardrooms, Graeson’s heart hasn't moved an inch from the grass roots pā harakeke in which she was raised. She’ll be the first to tell you that change doesn't just start in Wellington or New York - it starts back home in the small, rural towns that are so easily forgotten.

"If we want meaningful change, we need to invest in those communities and trust the people who have been doing the work all along."

"So much of what we value today, including te reo Māori, has been protected and carried by whānau in small towns who simply refused to let it disappear," she says. "They have kept the fires burning, often without recognition or funding. If we want meaningful change, we need to invest in those communities and trust the people who have been doing the work all along."

And this is the work that Graeson will keep doing. As this pathway has felt the most needed at this time in her life. 

When at age 15 she was diagnosed with multiple chronic illnesses, impacting her ability to go to school and work, it was her family and it was the hāpori within the League that helped her find equilibrium again. Because, when stripping away the executive titles, UN badges, and tribunal briefs, Graeson is still very much a 25-year-old trying to navigate life. She’s quick to credit the diverse hands, both wahine and tāne, that keep her grounded.

"Be ruthless in your pursuit for change."

When the news of her Y25 selection arrived, it couldn't have come at a better time - offering a spark of renewed energy right in the middle of navigating burnout.

"The Y25 programme hasn't changed who I am, but it has strengthened my confidence," Graeson shares. It forced her to pause, recalibrate, and "think more strategically about the impact I want my mahi to have."

When asked what keeps her running through the fatigue of high-stakes advocacy, the thought of her nieces and nephews and the world that they will one day occupy fills her mind. She knows that the world must change for them and even if she is only 1% of the solution for betterment, her answer is unapologetically clear:

"To be ruthless in your pursuit for change."