Leonie Hayden 
This week a group of young Māori leaders are at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to address the building of a billion dollar prison on confiscated Māori land. Established in 2000, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is one of three UN bodies mandated to deal specifically with indigenous rights. Since the … Read more
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, and yet here we are at the end of another week of being asked to prove racism exists. I have reason to believe the recent gale-force winds were caused by all the people of colour in New Zealand sighing at the … Read more
From today, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care is welcoming submissions from the public on the draft Terms of Reference. Chair of the Royal Commission Sir Anand Satyanand gave his first interview to Waatea News breakfast host Dale Husband this morning. “We very much appreciate that he has chosen Māori … Read more
Spinoff cheat sheet: For four months from 3 April, Māori can choose whether they want to be on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll. It’s an important decision that could influence the next election and the shape of our parliament. What’s all this then? Since 1975, Māori in New Zealand have been able … Read more
How Māori women can find our way back to equity through the stories of the past. In 1993 a group of Māori women filed a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, now known as the Mana Wahine Claim. The claimants included a list of dream dinner party guests – all of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, Lady … Read more
There’s a lot of confusion from media and commentators this week about the cultural identity of newly minted National Party leader Simon Bridges and deputy Paula Bennett. Here’s a handy guide to tell if you, or some you know, might have a touch of the Māori. Do you have a Māori ancestor? Yes? Congratulations, you’re … Read more
An app that gives parents important information and rewards them for attending appointments is being tested on the East Coast. Rural New Zealand gets the sharp end of a lot of our worst stats – suicide, poverty, unemployment, health and wellbeing. Nowhere more so than the East Coast of the North Island, which includes the … Read more
Literally tens of people lined the streets of Vermont to watch the opening ceremony of The Bachelor Winter Games, which debuted in the US on Valentine’s Day. And then New Zealand appeared. It’s not news that as a nation we’re particularly fascinated by how the rest of the world sees us. I’ve died inside more … Read more
How the Hec Busby did we get here? Leonie Hayden looks at ocean voyaging and the badass ancestors that brought us across Moana-nui-a-Kiwa to Aotearoa. What do we mean when we give our pepha and talk about “our” waka? I’ve seen a waka, you can’t sail overseas in that! Check out the awesome Waka Odyssey, … Read more
An announcement: We will no longer be responding to all the tired old opinions on Māori language and culture trotted out by people with no lived experience of being Māori in Aotearoa. Instead, we will rank them here. You know what’s tiring? Like, so deep-in-your-bones exhausting your very marrow puts on trackpants and goes back … Read more
In the wake of negative te reo Māori stories this week, a hashtag has appeared that centres the conversation back on the positive. It’s said that in politics, once you’re in opposition conciliatory gestures are no longer required and the aim is to stay in the spotlight however you can. National Party leader Bill English … Read more
This week Tasman Rugby Union are announcing a small name change with potentially huge consequences. The mako shark is found in waters throughout the world, but its name comes from here – a Māori word referring to both the shark and its teeth, with variations within New Zealand (mango in some dialects) and other Polynesian … Read more
This Sunday a unique parade is taking place on Auckland’s K Road to honour Hape, the resourceful ancestor that Karangahape Road is named for – and to highlight the plight of his descendants. You may have heard the name Ihumātao at some point over the past couple of years. They are the small semi-rural South … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at interesting issues and events in te ao Māori. In this episode Leonie explains what happened at Parihaka on the 5th of November 1881 when a pacifist settlement in Taranaki was invaded by 1600 volunteer and Armed Constabulary troops. But most importantly, she explains … Read more
Sir William Gallagher has been called a massive, massive racist… but what if all the people saying that are wrong? As the country enjoyed the clement spring weather this past weekend, word broke that manufacturing magnate Sir William Gallagher had addressed a group of Hamilton business people in a somewhat controversial manner. As well as … Read more
A Māori language version of blockbuster Disney film Moana was released in September to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo. Now you can get the soundtrack in your ears! E te iwi!!! The Moana Reo Māori soundtrack is now available on Spotify! Mauri ora! @Lin_Manuel @DisneyStudios #Moana https://t.co/oUeDA1bBqA — Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) November 3, 2017 The film … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at interesting issues and events in te ao Māori. What do we mean when we refer to our mountains and rivers as ancestors? Episode three looks at the world-leading legislation in Aotearoa that recognises Te Urewera National Park and the Whanganui River as people. … Read more
Playwright Miria George talks to Leonie Hayden about her new satire of Māori ‘one-percenters’, and challenging assumptions about what Māori art should be. The Vultures is a curious departure from most Māori theatre I’ve seen. It’s not explicitly about post-colonial disenfranchisement or violence, although it can be argued these underpin all Māori existence. It’s about … Read more
Ātea editor Leonie Hayden responds to a misinformed shambles of an opinion column published in numerous newspapers this week. On October 2, Fairfax published an opinion piece across a number of their regional newspapers by an ancient and mysterious figure named Bob Brockie. Described in his Wikipedia page as a ‘cartoonist’ and ‘scientist’ (who did … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at issues in te ao Māori that aren’t as well known as they should be. Episode two of Kaupapa On The Couch looks at the founding document you might not have heard of: He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni – New Zealand’s … Read more
No more ‘us’ and ‘them’, writes Ātea editor Leonie Hayden. The marae ātea is the open area in front of the wharenui where a ritual of encounter takes place between hosts and guests. It is the domain of Tūmatauenga, the god of war and people. To show respect for the mana of Tūmatauenga, whaikōrero between … Read more
The campaign for the Māori seats has been defined by drama and intrigue, with noble families protecting ancient fiefdoms and usurpers lurking around every corner like some kind of popular fantasy series. As of 19 September, 241,602 people were enrolled on the Māori electoral roll with the 18 – 24 group by far the largest … Read more
The experiences of migrants and refugees are addressed in an annual summit hosted by AUT’s Immigration and Inclusion Research Group. This year a range of speakers will be tackling the workplace. “We are in a woven universe, so how do we create a weave that doesn’t fray?” This is the question at the core of … Read more
The cast of the first season of Married At First Sight NZ has left us with snow blindness, writes Leonie Hayden. Diversity in media is important. It’s so important. The Emmys gave out their first ever gongs for comedy writing and directing to black artists this year. A fair reflection of who we are as a … Read more
Leonie Hayden presents Kaupapa On The Couch, a six-part webseries looking at issues in te ao Māori that aren’t as well known or understood as they should be. This month: the Māori seats. What are they for and who cares about them anyway? Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Australian feminist author Clementine Ford is in town this week for Shifting Points Of View at WORD Christchurch. Leonie Hayden talked to her about feminist parenting, the power of the Twitter thread and how to start a revolution on your own. Golden Girl Betty White once questioned why people say ‘grow some balls’. “Balls are … Read more
It’s a throwaway line pretending to be a throwaway joke (in the loosest sense of the word). What it reveals is incredibly worrying, writes Leonie Hayden. It’s a fairly typical episode of Seven Sharp. A tragic tale of forestry worker deaths told sensitively by Maiki Sherman. Some quite interesting stats around what election issues people … Read more
A Māori, a Filipino and a Persian walk into a bar. They’re probably just getting a drink after a day of filming their new comedy sketch show. Hosted by improv comedy trio Frickin’ Dangerous Bro — Jamaine Ross, James Roque and Pax Assadi — Only in Aotearoa is a new Māori Television comedy that skewers modern race … Read more
‘My mind exploded. No joke, the feeling was like I had a crush!’ Three rangatahi talk about discovering their passion for science at MacDiarmid DiscoveryCamp. DiscoveryCamp is a fun, hands-on programme designed for year 12 or 13 Māori and Pasifika secondary pupils with an interest in science. Students are chosen from all around the country … Read more