Nadine Anne Hura, who never considered herself an artist, reflects on what art and making has taught her. I couldn’t clean or cook or wash the clothes, but I could sew. That’s a lie, I’m a terrible sewer, but I left work early to fossick around in the $1 bin of the fabric warehouse, searching … Read more
Summer reissue: There are many lessons climate scientists can learn from mātauranga Māori. Lesson one is: don’t panic. This story was made with support from the Science Journalism Fund and was first published 29 December, 2019. Hank Dunn (Te Uri o Tai, Te Rarawa) has survived five shipwrecks in his lifetime. He told me this … Read more
For many whānau, Christmas can be a difficult time of the year, accentuating the absence of those who have passed away. Nadine Anne Hura reflects on love, loss and regret on this first Christmas without her brother. Jimmy Barnes says that life’s too short for burning bridges, but what I want to know is whether … Read more
Like hundreds of thousands of others, Nadine Anne Hura’s brother couldn’t see the point in participating in a system that didn’t make space for him, much less represent him. Content warning: This piece includes discussion of suicide I used to think that the most important things we say to the people we love are wordless. I … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura’s brother was different, like Māui. Equal parts curious, reckless, determined and brave, he couldn’t leave things alone. He needed to know. I found my brother in a crowd of 60,000 people under the stars. It was 1993 and U2 was on tour at Mt Smart Stadium. If I said I remembered the … Read more
Piiata the lab was supposed to paper over the cracks of Nadine Anne Hura’s broken family with beads of glittering gold. Instead, she began to dismantle the house one panel and one cushion at a time. She was second to last of the litter and fully golden. We took her home and called her Piiata. She … Read more
A poem by Ngāti Hine/Ngāpuhi writer Nadine Anne Hura. Rest now, e Papatūānuku Breathe easy and settle Right here where you are We’ll not move upon you For awhile We’ll stop, we’ll cease We’ll slow down and stay home Draw each other close and be kind Kinder than we’ve ever been. I wish we … Read more
There are many lessons climate scientists can learn from mātauranga Māori. Lesson one is: don’t panic. This story was made with support from the Science Journalism Fund Hank Dunn (Te Uri o Tai, Te Rarawa) has survived five shipwrecks in his lifetime. He told me this a few moments after I met him at the … Read more
At a recent Aotearoa Climate Emergency meeting in Wellington, the topic under discussion was a Citizens’ Assembly to work towards cross-party agreement on climate action. Nadine Hura went along to ask what a citizen looks like and who gets to decide. I went to listen. I wasn’t planning to speak. I arrived late and sat … Read more
Spurred by a piece on The Spinoff calling for people to amplify indigenous voices around the climate emergency, Nadine Hura asked an indigenous activist what that means in practice. ‘Amplify indigenous voices’ is a sentiment I’ve been hearing more and more, but I’m left wondering what it means in a practical sense to those saying … Read more
Whether it’s one glass while making dinner or a few at kids’ birthday parties, it’s often hard to separate motherhood from drinking. Mother of three Nadine Anne Hura writes about why she finally decided to quit for good. First published 4 April, 2018 I never hit rock bottom. There wasn’t any great reckoning or moment … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) is one of six writers who have been selected for Te Papa Tupu 2018, a writing programme developed by the Māori Literature Trust and organised by Huia Publishers. We asked her to write about what it means for her as a Māori writer. In 2013 a friend rang to offer me … Read more
Whether it’s one glass while making dinner or a few at kids’ birthday parties, it’s often hard to separate motherhood from drinking. Mother of three Nadine Anne Hura writes about why she finally decided to quit for good. I never hit rock bottom. There wasn’t any great reckoning or moment of truth. Just a series … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura shares the challenges of encouraging te reo Māori with teenagers and the joy of total immersion environments for all of the whānau. My motivation for learning Māori has changed a lot since I first enrolled in a total immersion te reo course three years ago. Back then, I was all about the fast-track to … Read more
Essayist Nadine Anne Hura discovers a town alive with the voices of the past. There’s a way of looking, where, if you’re not paying attention, you won’t see anything at all. Nuhaka is a place like that. It came up so fast, it was already in my rear-view mirror by the time I realised I’d gone past. I did a u-turn and pulled up opposite the general … Read more
Essayist Nadine Anne Hura goes looking for one ancestor’s story, and asks what really lies underneath our monuments to war. Small towns have big stories. I go around reading the plaques on top of rocks and plinths, memorials to the chosen, trying to decipher the story beneath the story. As I read, I almost feel … Read more
We should promote everyone having a go at learning te reo Māori – but please think twice before you ask a Māori person to do the heavy lifting for you, writes Nadine Anne Hura. One thing I’ve noticed about being a te reo speaker is just how often people assume I can do translations. I’ve … Read more
Nadine Millar writes a love letter to her beloved Porirua, and asks ‘What’s in a name?’ A few years ago, in 1994, a local businessman started an unsuccessful campaign to change the name of Porirua. Chris Gollins, a real estate consultant and media personality, felt that businesses were put off coming to the city because they baulked … Read more
A high school debate tournament highlighted the unconscious Euro-centric bias at the heart of the New Zealand education system, writes Nadine Millar. Here they are. The Hato Pāora College debating team, about to take part in the annual O’Shea Shield a couple of weekends ago. The room is prickly with anticipation. This prestigious speech and … Read more
I only started studying te reo at Te Ataarangi this year, but I knew straight away that there was something different about it – and not just the fact that we use cuisenaire rods instead of pen and paper, writes Nadine Millar. Shame is one of the biggest barriers many of us face in learning … Read more
What happens when your baby is born and you don’t feel anything? Nadine Millar shares her story of waiting for the feelings to come. I was 24 when I had my first baby. I’d just started Uni and it seemed like a good use of time. I wrote assignments while he slept, substituted text books for … Read more
Nadine Millar’s son Cormac has loved books all his life – but for a long time he just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) read them. She explains why this wasn’t as terrible as it first seemed, and tells the story of how Cormac finally learned to read. When I was five I learnt to read. Each letter … Read more