This thesis investigates the intersection of the colonized self and the Māori self, examining how these dual identities coexist within the same physical, mental, and spiritual space. Grounded in Māori ontology and wellness (Durie, 1998), the study uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines academic analysis, creative writing, pūrākau (Lee, 2009), journal reflections, and artistic practice to explore two distinct ways of knowing that operate within this duality. In this academic study, the colonized self is defined as a Māori woman shaped and constrained by the effects of colonization (Gemmell, 2013: Mikaere, 2003). Conversely, the Māori self represents the awakened Wahine Māori who has embraced mātauranga Māori. She actively learns, embodies, practices, and lives Māori values and traditions as part of her everyday life. However, the Wahine Māori is not entirely free from the ongoing impacts of colonization, given the long history of conflict between Māori and European peoples in Aotearoa. The colonization of New Zealand, marked by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, resulted in the systematic loss of cultural markers central to Māori identity (Jackson, 1998, 1995; Walker, 1990). Furthermore, government policies have contributed to the marginalization of Māori culture in areas such as family, education, religion, and loss of language (Pihama, 2001; Smith, 1999). Through this creative practice research, the practice of raranga whatu is explored using both traditional and contemporary techniques, contributing to the development of mātauranga Māori art forms (Campbell, 2019; Smith, 2019). This study examines how the process of weaving supports one woman’s journey of reclaiming and empowering her Indigenous identity. Whatu raranga serves as a transformative practice, embodying the duality of the self within a uniquely Māori space of being. Within a Kaupapa Māori framework, the process of restoring cultural connections has supported the reawakening of Mana Wahine identity and the reclamation of Māori spaces, as recognized and embodied by kairaranga (Campbell, 2019; Pere, 1991; H. Smith, 2019; Yates-Smith, 1980).