He Kākano Ahau is a podcast by writer and activist Kahu Kutia (Ngāi Tūhoe) that explores stories of Māori in the city. In episode two: rangatahi making connections in Ōtautahi Christchurch. What defines the current generation of rangatahi Māori? Some might call us millennials, the first generation to be born fluent in digital technology. Some … Read more
The prison and remand systems, courts and police have an institutional racism problem that sees Māori imprisoned at an alarmingly high rate. The Parole Board are no different. A response from the New Zealand Parole Board is at the bottom of this piece. New Zealand is currently experiencing a crisis of imprisonment. However, not everyone … Read more
Calls to Marcus Lush’s Newstalk ZB show defending the incorrect pronunciation of Māori place names in Otago have been captured and shared by angry listeners. Should we despair at the callers’ attitudes, or celebrate the popular response, asks Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins It’s the way it is. These are the words a caller to … Read more
Like other parts of the criminal justice system, bias in New Zealand’s remand system continues to discriminate against Māori. Many of us take for granted that if we are ever accused of a crime, we will be treated as if we are innocent until proven guilty. This idea is such a cornerstone of our democracy … Read more
In this charged essay, Spinoff columnist Morgan Godfery takes stock of Treaty of Waitangi interpretations that pay lip service to values without honouring the core tenets of power. Illustration by Toby Morris. This feature is made possible thanks to the Spinoff Members Fund. We need your help to make journalism that matters. For more information, click here. … Read more
Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa) has been looking to Māori stories and storytellers to learn more about our gender identities before colonisation. There’s a lot to be read between the lines, she writes. Te ao Māori can be a very gendered place to be. In some settings, your gender can tell you where you stand, what … Read more
He Kākano Ahau is a podcast by writer and activist Kahu Kutia (Ngāi Tūhoe) that explores stories of Māori in the city, and weaves together strands of connection. In episode one: the legacy of urban marae Tapu te Ranga. I grew up where the tarseal on the road crumbles away into loose rock and dust. … Read more
Criminologist Antje Deckert has just completed a two-year study of how women offenders are portrayed in New Zealand newspapers. The results show that journalists are telling very different stories abut Māori and Pākehā. That our criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform and that we need to reduce the number of Māori individuals … Read more
On Friday it was announced that Armed Offenders Squad patrols will be trialled in Counties Manukau, Waikato and Canterbury over the next six months. The data suggests this will increase police violence and unfairly target Māori, writes Emilie Rākete. Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced on Friday that cars of Armed Offender Squad officers armed with … Read more
US justice reform activists Deborah Small and asha bandele say white supremacy and colonialism are at the heart of punitive drug laws. They spoke to Teuila Fuatai about how drug reform can reverse their effects on minority communities. Deborah Small sees Donald Trump as the US Dorian Gray. “He’s the physical manifestation of what America … Read more
Occupiers of the disputed land at Ihumātao have been shut out of talks with the government about finding a resolution, saying they haven’t had any direct contact with ministers in more than a month, write RNZ’s Te Aniwa Hurihanganu and Meriana Johnsen. The Māori King announced in September mana whenua had reached a consensus that they … Read more
Later this month, the national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars, known as Te Pūtake o Te Riri, is to be held in Taranaki. Local community activist Vivian Hutchinson looks at how a history of conflict has shaped our sense of citizenship and describes how some people in Taranaki are now turning up to a … Read more
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst. Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā student at the University … Read more
Her incredible international campaign to challenge world leaders on the climate emergency has made Greta Thunberg the favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize tonight. Adam Currie questions why the public are so keen to hear the Swedish teen’s message over the indigenous youth who raised their voices long before Greta. One year before Greta’s … Read more
Architectural designer and housing advocate Jade Kake is leading a number of projects (and conversations) on the rejuvenation of Māori housing and land. Here she looks at the current housing climate and what needs to change before Māori can have agency over their housing aspirations. We’re at a really interesting point in time politically. The … Read more
An initiative launched on Wednesday will translate 100 popular fiction books into te reo Māori, and it’s kicking off with the first of the most popular book series of all time. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone currently exists in 80 languages. The only book more widely translated is the Bible, but JK Rowling’s bestselling … Read more
Grandparents Mere and Ngaro Pita spent decades in a run-down home. A West Auckland programme for elderly residents helped fix that. Mere and Ngaro Pita’s West Auckland home is literally a labour of love. The proud grandparents live about five minutes’ walk from Kelston Boys’ High School with their four mokopuna. Originally from the Far … Read more
After rising up the ranks of the UFC, Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya became the undisputed middleweight champion on Sunday. Rapper and producer Unchained XL explains what Adesanya’s win means for his first generation Afro-Kiwi community. The African community in New Zealand is still fairly small and relatively young. The first few of us trickled in … Read more
The first ever Oral Health Equity Symposium was held on Thursday and Friday last week. Gabrielle Baker went along to see how the best in New Zealand’s dental sector are hoping to tackle inequities in New Zealand’s oral healthcare. It’s no secret that our health system works better for some than it does for others. … Read more
The great filmmaker Barry Barclay (Ngati, The Kaipara Affair) also wrote books on Māori screen arts and philosophy. Miriama Aoake delved back into Mana Tūturu: Māori Treasures and Intellectual Property Rights, in which he reimagines Captain Cook’s landing in Aotearoa if cameras were present. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a white man from England … Read more
The first encounter between Māori and Captain Cook and his crew ended in the murder and brutalising of nine Tūranaga-nui-a-kiwa ancestors. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s intention to include Māori history and voyaging traditions in the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of that tragedy has prompted a mixed reception. This feature is made possible … Read more
In this instalment of Things I Learned At Art School, Bob Jahnke talks Māori identity, education and, on the occasion of the Tuia 250 commemorations, “getting Cooked”. Bob Jahnke is the winner of the 2019 Wallace Arts Trust Paramount Award and an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori art. … Read more
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
Before she presented the APRA Maioha Award at the Silver Scroll songwriting awards last night, 2018 winner Ria Hall (Ngāi Te Rangi) issued a challenge on representation in the New Zealand music industry to a standing ovation. Here’s what she said. Kia māia: it’s the act of having fortitude, resilience and bravery. Being bold. I … Read more
TVNZ’s new online-only series Colonial Combat pits the the inhabitants of Kauri Bay – Māori, settlers, men, women, and many more besides – against each other in the ring. Dan Taipua reviews. The place is Kauri Bay, kind of. The year is 1836, sort of. The people are Māori, and All Other Comers. The stakes … Read more
On the tenth anniversary of the tsunami that claimed 143 lives in Samoa, Sapeer Mayron speaks to the people who were there. Sapeer Mayron is a reporter for the Samoa Observer, covering the 10th anniversary of the 2009 Tsunami. Ten years have passed since a devastating tsunami thrashed the shores of Samoa, and took the … Read more
The Hiakai hāngī was one of the most exciting events at this year’s Visa Wellington On a Plate. Photographer Amber-Jayne Bain was there to document the journey of Monique Fiso and her talented international collaborators. There aren’t many people in the world who work harder than Monique Fiso. She is driven to excel, but with … Read more
Laura O’Connell Rapira looks at what benefit cuts and successive generations of an unregulated housing market has done to welfare and housing for those in the margins. For the first seven or so years of my life, I was raised mostly by my mum on the domestic purposes benefit (my dad is a big part … Read more
She was recently named by Time as one of the 15 women leading the fight against climate change. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim tells Kera Sherwood-O’Regan about the effects of the changing climate on the village she grew up in in Chad, especially on women and girls, and what spurred her to action. As a young indigenous … Read more