All week this week we feature tangata whenua writings to mark Waitangi Day. Today: “Everything we know about urban Māori is probably wrong”, writes Morgan Godfery, in his review of a new study by Bradford Haami. The first urban Māori were probably eighteenth century Sydneysiders. Until 1912, a laneway near the Australian Heritage Hotel, a … Read more
It’s Huitanguru, the ninth month of the Māori year – also known as Pēpuere – when we move from the fifth summer phase to the sixth and seeds pods burst and release their seeds onto the ground. Learn more about the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, here. Tēnei te reo o mihi e rere atu nei ki … Read more
Every year, thousands of New Zealand immigrants in London celebrate Waitangi Day by dressing up, publicly getting drunk, and doing the haka, and it makes Madeleine Chapman shudder. New Zealanders acknowledge Waitangi Day in different ways. Some do nothing and are just glad to have a day off work. Some celebrate it, believing that the … Read more
Hinerangi Rhind-Wiri, Haylee Koroi and Lizzie Strickett spoke to friends and whānau about what a living Treaty of Waitangi partnership looks like. Some would have us believe that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is of the past. We wanted to share the voices of those trying to live by Te Tiriti today who suggest otherwise. We … Read more
A new petition is calling for changes to address New Zealand students’ ‘shameful’ ignorance of their country’s history, writes RNZ’s John Gerritsen. In the lead-up to Waitangi Day, history teachers are calling for compulsory teaching of New Zealand’s Māori and colonial history in schools, but government representatives are rejecting the idea. The chairperson of the … Read more
Three years on from making the word ‘dildo’ ubiquitous in respectable New Zealand homes, Josie Butler says ‘f*** you’ to a notice trespassing her from her own ancestral lands. Activist and nurse Josie Butler was served a trespass notice on behalf of the Waitangi National Trust on Friday, trespassing her from the Treaty Grounds, the … Read more
Jack Tapsell is the product of a family dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Māori. The recent University of Otago medical graduate talks to Leonie Hayden about carrying on the legacy of his father and grandfather. As descendants of Phillip Tapsell, a Danish sailor who settled at Maketū near Rotorua in 1830, and Te Arawa … Read more
Nau mai, haere mai ki Kaupapa On The Couch, a webseries from The Spinoff about Māori issues and stuff, hosted by Leonie Hayden. In Māori culture, the head is tapu so therefore hair holds a lot of mana. Our ancestors conveyed meaning and status with their hair, and dressed it with a beautiful array of oils … Read more
The parties founded by Tariana Turia and Gareth Morgan both failed to make parliament at the last election, and now there’s talk of a collaboration to turn that around. Māui Street editor Morgan Godfery asks whether it might bear fruit. Big news via TVNZ: TOP and the Māori Party could be allies in the next … Read more
Māori architectural designer Jade Kake looks at the latest Kiwibuild news and offers some solutions. Kiwibuild was Labour’s flagship policy in the last election, promising to deliver 100,000 homes over ten years for first home buyers, of which half are to be built in Auckland. So far, Kiwibuild has failed to meet expectations, and is … Read more
A Melbourne bar that used an image of a 19th-century St Kilda mayor with tā moko drawn on to promote a New Zealand beer showcase has been accused of mocking Māori culture. This story was originally published on RNZ A Melbourne bar has been criticised for using an image of a former St Kilda mayor … Read more
I had the privilege to stand alongside Mātua Nathan and his daughter Alethea in New York last year, writes Julia Amua Whaipooti. Now is a moment of progressive global outrage. It will pass, but his work will not. On April 20 last year I was sitting in the General Assembly at the United Nations when I … Read more
The Waitara Lands Bill passed its third reading in December – settling one of Aotearoa’s longest-running land disputes – despite only one of two hapū giving their support. Why has the government allowed this to happen, asks Leonie Pihama. I received a parliamentary alert in December that read, “The following documents matching your alert criteria … Read more
In her ceremonial inaugural lecture ‘Whakawhanaketanga toitū: A tale of tū cities’, University of Otago Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett (Ngāti Whātua) examined the concepts of “identity in place” and mapped how these ideas have shaped her career. The concept of ‘whakawhanaketanga toitū’ is the notion of developing and improving our activities and lives in a way that is sustainable. ‘Sustainable development’ … Read more
It’s Kohitātea, the eighth month of the Māori year – also known as Rehua, Kai-tātea and Hānuere – when the Rehua star outshines the night sky and fruits ripen for everyone to enjoy. Learn more about the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, here. The period of January was often referred to as the Rehua month. … Read more
Rangatira ki te rangatira: Ardern’s approach to Waitangi commemorations offered the chance to break from the bad old days under PMs of both parties, wrote Annabelle Lee This post was first published January 24 2018 Every Waitangi it’s the same. The lack of gratitude shown by Māori at being among the poorest, sickest, most unemployed and … Read more
Aren’t Can’t Don’t: As a formerly incarcerated person, I know that denying the right to vote violates respect for human dignity, sending the message that absolute rehabilitation is impossible, writes Awatea Mita. This post was first published 28 November 2018. It’s 11.00pm and I am returning to Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility as a “release … Read more
Summer reissue: High Court judge Justice Timothy Brewer asked a lawyer if she was making a “political point” by introducing herself and her client in te reo Māori. Sociolinguist Vini Olsen-Reeder unpacks the bias underpinning those comments. This post was first published 12 November 2018. Headlines about things Māori often seem to miss the point. “High … Read more
Summer reissue: There was a lot of confusion from media and commentators earlier in the year about the cultural identity of then-newly minted National Party leader Simon Bridges and deputy Paula Bennett. Here’s a handy guide to tell if you, or someone you know, might have a touch of the Māori. This post was first … Read more
No-nonsense 31-year-old Māori/Samoan woman Monique Fiso is behind one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in years. Get ready, Wellington. This post was originally published 29 October 2018 Wood-fired kareao and asparagus with salted buffalo curd, pine dust and a pine needle vinaigrette. Kina panna cotta with smoked kahawai, green-lipped mussels, caviar and kawakawa oil. … Read more
Summer reissue: The go-to argument for many people spouting anti-Māori sentiment often starts with ‘… but Māori killed all the Moriori’. Researcher Keri Mills was eager for fellow Pākehā to do some reading before reaching for this lazy argument, sparking a major nationwide conversation. This post was first published 3 August 2018. Firstly, the myth. … Read more
Pākehā life coach Sally Anderson came under fire for receiving moko kauae, as has the tā moko artist that gave it to her. Leonie Pihama looks at the difference between rights and privilege when it comes to wāhine Māori and moko kauae. This post was first published 24 May 2018. Over the past few days I … Read more
When Don Brash was invited onto national television to speak about Māori language week this year, I decided I could speak about almost anything, writes Madeleine Chapman. This post was first published 10 September 2018. There are plenty of uninformed takes to be heard on the radio. People call into talkback and air an opinion … Read more
All week this week we count down the five best books of 2018. Number two: Leonie Hayden reviews the text book Māori Made Easy 2 by Scotty Morrison. This is about Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy 2. This is not about Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy 2. It’s about te reo Māori, and the hole … Read more
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
Puawai Cairns, head of mātauranga Māori for Te Papa museum, writes about what biculturalism can and should mean in an institution like a museum. “Institutional biculturalism is often applied like makeup: it can create the appearance desired by both the wearer and the viewer, while beneath the surface the ravages of time remain. In the … Read more
A volunteer for the Indigenous Peoples Caucus at this year’s COP24 climate talks, Kera Sherwood-O’Regan reports back from Poland on the indigenous and human rights injustice that has just been delivered by the summit. It’s 2.58am on Sunday in Kraków, Poland. After an intense 48-hour final day at the COP24 Climate Negotiations an hour and a … Read more
In the latest in the Frame documentary series produced for The Spinoff by Wrestler and funded by NZ on Air, we follow chef Luke Adams as he prepares a hāngī for his children’s school fundraiser. “It never really seemed important in the beginning,” says Luke Adams. “It was just something that was always going on.” … Read more
Nau mai, haere mai ki Kaupapa On The Couch, a webseries from The Spinoff about Māori issues and stuff, hosted by Leonie Hayden. Kaupapa On The Couch is back for season 2, and we’re kicking off with HĀKARI: everything you need to know to party like your ancestors, from hāngi techniques to understanding tikanga Māori … Read more