Mainstream news has a history of not always being the safest or most representative space for Black and indigenous people and other people of colour (BIPOC). Many have created their own spaces to address the imbalance, but some Māori media professionals say it’s time for everyone to get on the bi-cultural waka. Among the things … Read more
Today marks one year since police evicted mana whenua and members of the Protect Ihumātao campaign from land at Ihumātao, South Auckland. Justin Latif looks back at the standoff, the eviction, and what’s happened since. Has it really been a year?! Yes it really has. On July 23 2019, police descended on Ihumātao in South … Read more
People have been writing about what diversity can add to an organisation for literal decades, and yet we find ourselves with two major political party leaders that either can’t or won’t accept some very easy-to-grasp concepts. Gerry and Judith, this is for you. New National Party leader Judith Collins announced on Wednesday that she would … Read more
A campaign against a huge new dump north of Auckland has drawn together a coalition of iwi, local residents and local government. With their rāhui ignored, they’ve decided to send a hīkoi direct to Auckland Council’s door. Alex Braae reports. For Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish (Ngāti Whātua), the prospect of pollution reaching the Kaipara Harbour … Read more
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te Atua Urupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on the Waikato Regional Theatre … Read more
Mistrust in the government and generational trauma mean Māori communities are more at risk of falling victim to conspiracies relating to the 5G spectrum. Alice Webb-Liddall finds out what needs to be done to combat this dangerous misinformation. The real danger of conspiracy theories can sometimes be hard to grasp. When comments on Facebook link … Read more
Whakamā refers to a state of personal or collective embarrassment and shame. Unabated shame can corrode the soul. Tikanga can fix and prevent it, writes Tainui Stephens. This story contains descriptions of racism and racist language. It seems to me some radio talkback hosts suffer from an empathy bypass: a quixotic condition affecting those who … Read more
It’s long past time we officially recognised the Māori new year on Māori land, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. In May, Jacinda Ardern said more public holidays for Kiwis to experience Aotearoa New Zealand is among a number of things the government is “actively considering” to encourage domestic tourism. With many small businesses struggling to keep … Read more
While Matariki and Pūanga rose last month in Pipiri, they are most visible this month, in Hōngongoi (July). Our celebration of them continues. With thanks to Matua Rereata Mākiha, Sam Rerekura and Rangiānehu Mātāmua for sharing their knowledge. Pūanga and Matariki shine high and bright in Tāmaki (Auckland) this month, bringing with them not only … Read more
As the settler government did in the late 1800s, it’s high time we erected a bunch of new monuments to the great people of this country (and maybe take some of the stink ones down). Ātea editor Leonie Hayden has some suggestions. Hundreds of heroic and revered ancestors proudly adorn walls, lintels, waharoa and pou … Read more
Almost 170 years ago, Māori political processes were interrupted and displaced by a new, enforced electoral system. Researcher Jo Waitoa dispels the myth that voter turnout and political participation are the same thing. Read more of the The Spinoff’s Election 2020 coverage here. Māori political participation has a long and enduring tradition that cannot be … Read more
Auckland will soon be receiving an additional 75 million litres of water per day from the Waikato River as an interim measure to help ease the worst water shortage in 25 years. A Ngāti Whātua historian says this sharing of resources between Tāmaki Makaurau and Waikato goes back a very long way. For Ngāti Whātua … Read more
We should be unanimously outraged that in seven short years the number of Māori women on remand has doubled, in part thanks to a pernicious reform. What will you do about it, asks Awatea Mita. In December this year, it will be six years since I was released from prison. Since gaining my freedom I have … Read more
Sam Brooks talks to actor-director Miriama McDowell, fresh from a top billing in Head High and directing Ahikāroa. There’s a moment in the second episode of Three’s new family-and-rugby drama Head High that stands out for me. A committee, entirely made out of bureaucratically-aligned adults discussing a student’s future in rugby, descends into personal attacks … Read more
A video of the arrest of a Māori man has gone viral, as police violence goes under the microscope globally. The police say the man violently resisted and their behaviour was appropriate. But the video reveals a familiar cycle, argues Emilie Rākete. A week ago, police commissioner Andrew Coster stood in St Peters Church in … Read more
A new survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows more than one in four would like to see Hamilton’s name revert to Kirikiriroa. But a Waikato kaumatua says he’ll continue to push for change. As statues come down around the world and long-venerated slave traders and colonialists have their actions put under the microscope for … Read more
The CEO of Pango Productions and creator of some of Māori Television’s biggest hits, Bailey Mackey, lays out his vision for the future of Māori media – and there’s no place for Māori Television in it. I love Māori Television. I always have and always will. I started working there one week before it launched … Read more
A collective of four wāhine Māori artists, Mata Aho Collective transforms human-scale Māori weaving practices into atua-scale contemporary artworks that recently earned them a nomination for the 2020 Walters Art Prize. For writer Cassandra Barnett, their work provides some much-needed solace during a painful time. Today, I am a grieving and angry mother. As I … Read more
The Health and Disability System Review released this week nearly gets it right but it still sets us up to fail, writes consultant and health advocate Gabrielle Baker. If you like reading long reports about the health and disability system, Tuesday was your day. The long-awaited, highly-anticipated, Health and Disability System Review was finally released … Read more
As the Minister for Māori development faces the music for a poorly-received Māori media sector review, new and contradictory details are emerging. A government review of the Māori media sector released last week that recommended Māori news be centralised into a single service at Māori Television was received poorly by many in the sector. It … Read more
Leonie Hayden talks to three young leaders of New Zealand’s Black Lives Matter movement about colonialism and justice – and why anti-Black racism isn’t just ‘an American problem’. I start all interviews by asking “Nō hea koe, where are you from?” In a Māori context it’s a whakapapa question that places people on a familial … Read more
The force that underpins the oppression of African Americans is the same force that underpins the oppression of Māori and Pasifika, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. In honour of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and every other Black and brown life that has been taken from us by racism and racist institutions, hundreds of thousands of people … Read more
The proposal to ‘rationalise’ Māori media into a single news service is regressive and will further marginalise the Māori voice, writes journalist Mihingarangi Forbes. Those of us who live and work in te ao Māori have clocked up more than a few hours on wooden bench seats on windswept marae, pulling our coats close and … Read more
Māori leadership throughout the Covid-19 crisis has looked different from iwi to iwi, and hapū to hapū. In Whanganui, as before, iwi have taken their lead from Rangi, Papa and the sacred River, writes Āneta Rāwiri. Just over three months ago, on March 11, the World Health Organisation declared the Covid-19 coronavirus a global pandemic. … Read more
While we stand in solidarity with Black and indigenous communities experiencing ongoing violence overseas, we have plenty of work to do here in Aotearoa too. These 10 seminal anti-racism texts by Māori authors are a great place to start. George Floyd’s death as the result of police violence has sparked protests around the world, including … Read more
A centuries-old māra kai site at risk from a housing development in Ngāruawāhia is a vital part of the town’s identity, protesters say, and the fight to save it has united generations. The peaceful protest at Ngāruawāhia starts at 10am each day with a karakia. Each day ends with one too. It’s clear that tikanga … Read more
As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started in response to the death of George … Read more
Following a lengthy review, a government review of the Māori media sector has recommended news be centralised at Māori Television. Many in the sector are deeply troubled by the idea, writes Duncan Greive. A proposal to amalgamate all the diverse Māori news media into a single entity has drawn a furious reaction, with several industry … Read more
As we face what seems to be the tail end of the first (and hopefully final) wave of Covid-19 in Aotearoa, research is being done to examine whether people of different ethnic and socio-economic statuses have the same ability to respond to the crisis. New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has been heralded all over the … Read more