Tina NgataTina Ngata

Tina Ngata (Ngāti Porou) is a mother of two from the East Coast. Her work involves advocacy for environmental, Indigenous and human rights. This includes local, national and international initiatives that highlight the role of settler colonialism in issues such as climate change and waste pollution, and promote Indigenous conservation as best practice for a globally sustainable future

The right to conquer and claim: Captain Cook and the Doctrine Of Discovery

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On the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook arriving in Aotearoa, Tina Ngata looks at the whakapapa of colonisation in Aotearoa – the 15th and 16th century laws issued by the Catholic church that gave British and European monarchies permission to oppress and enslave indigenous people. This year’s TUIA250 Cook commemorations are New Zealand’s response … Read more

Uplifting children is not a Māori problem. It’s a colonisation problem

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Last week the Ministry for Children’s practices around uplifting children and putting them in state care were exposed in a harrowing investigation by journalist Melanie Reid. It’s no coincidence Māori are disproportionately targeted, writes Tina Ngata. If you venture into the websites for the Ministry for Women, Ministry for Children and Ministry of Health, the … Read more

Once were gardeners, lovers, poets… and warriors

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With actor Jason Momoa putting his problematic interpretation of haka on the world stage during the press tour for Aquaman, Tina Ngata revisits some of the myths and misunderstandings about Māori as a ‘warrior race’. “The notion of a warrior gene as a scientific fact is actually based on the history of a scientific and cultural … Read more

Wai Māori: a Māori perspective on the freshwater debate

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In this excerpt from the new book Mountains to Sea: Solving New Zealand’s Freshwater Crisis, Tina Ngata talks about the whakapapa of life-giving freshwater. Ko wai tēnei When I speak to wai I speak to myself – and that is not only to acknowledge the inherent understanding that many Māori carry, which is ‘Ko wai … Read more