A secretive group excavating a cave near Huntly believe it’s filled with a race of pre-Polynesian giants’ skeletons, but iwi and archaeologists have serious concerns, reports RNZ’s Susan Strongman. Archaeologists say a group of people tunnelling into the side of a country road in search of a race of pre-Polynesian giants’ skeletons could be damaging … Read more
This week I watched a man shoot himself in the foot so many times I was amazed he could walk out of the courtroom. Here’s my honestly held opinion. Leonie Hayden was at Wellington High Court thanks to the support of Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown journalism, join today. The high-profile case of Robert … Read more
The high-profile case at the Wellington High Court has come to an early halt after lawyers for Bob Jones, who was suing writer and director Renae Maihi, announced they will no longer continue. Sir Bob Jones was suing Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to parliament in 2018 to strip Jones of … Read more
Director Heperi Mita celebrates the success of his friend Taika Waititi, and explains what it means for Māori and indigenous creatives around the world. There was a moment during the 2020 Academy awards where I saw Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley and Ra Vincent, and realised that in just one generation Māori filmmakers had gone from … Read more
The controversy over the fate of RNZ Concert, and the proposed youth music network to replace it, have sucked up a lot of attention this week. But the idea the government might foot the bill for a new youth brand haven’t gone down well with iwi stations suffering from years of underfunding, writes Alice Webb-Lidall. … Read more
In 2018, Robert Jones wrote a piece he argued was ‘satire’, in which called for an annual ‘Māori Gratitude Day’. Filmmaker and activist Renae Maihi responded with a petition to have him stripped of his knighthood. Jones is suing her for defamation. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was Sir Bob Jones being sued for … Read more
Waitangi Day brings together all groups of people, of which politicians are just one, writes Leonie Hayden. I travelled up to Waitangi with a Ngāti Kahungunu friend, her first time there on Waitangi Day, and my fourth. Arriving at Te Tii marae on Wednesday morning, having missed the leaders’ welcome the day before, we took … Read more
The birds of Polynesian legend are part of birth, death, and everything in between. Now, a PhD thesis from the University of Otago undertakes the first ever in-depth exploration into the manu of mythology. From the flittering pīwakawaka that woke Hine-nui-te-pō and caused the death of Maui, to the Tahitian doves bringing figs to earth, … Read more
On this day two years ago, Jacinda Ardern delivered a powerful, acclaimed speech at Waitangi. She implored her audience then, as she has again in recent days, to hold her to account on delivering for Te Ao Māori. We’ve taken that speech and held it up against the Labour-led government’s achievements to date. In February … Read more
In a classic case of better late than never, pioneering Māori tennis player Ruia Morrison was honoured at the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland. She looked so small, standing on a tennis court with Kiingi Tūheitia on one side and Serena Williams on the other. In her slightly-too-large blazer she looked too small to have … Read more
Findings of the Māori-led inquiry into Oranga Tamariki highlight the trauma and heavy-handed state approach behind New Zealand’s appalling child care and protection statistics. Teuila Fuatai looks at the key findings and reaction to it. Dame Naida Glavish: ‘The treatment of Māori women has been inhumane’ Dame Naida Glavish led the governance group which oversaw … Read more
From tennis champions to dance craze inventors, Scratched celebrates New Zealand sporting heroes who never got their due – but whose legacies deserve to be in lights. This month, Ruia Morrison meets Serena Williams. Watch the original Ruia Morrison episode of Scratched here. At the ASB Classic winner’s ceremony, Serena Williams, having just won her first title … Read more
The political pilgrimage north is under way ahead of the commemoration of the signing of te tiriti. RNZ’s Jo Moir surveys the calm before the storm. Thousands of people from around the country will begin the annual pilgrimage to Waitangi on Sunday, and the sleepy snippet of the Bay of Islands will transform once again. … Read more
The blue moki are running and the tuna are returning to the sea. We’re entering the fifth phase of summer. Ngā mihi o te wā e te whānau! We are in the ninth lunar month of Pēpuere and at the end of the summer phase Matiti Kaiwai, moving to Matiti Raurehu. Kaiwai, the fourth phase, … Read more
The president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, the oldest national Māori organisation still in existence, has a few words on the misogynistic comments made by Shane Jones at Rātana. In July 2019 the minister for women, Julie Anne Genter, announced with some pride the allocation by the government of $6.2m to put together a … Read more
The first two episodes of TVNZ’s new action series The Dead Lands were released to a worldwide audience of millions last night. Alice Webb-Liddall spoke to some of the cast and crew about the epic genre-bending show, and what it means for New Zealand television. When The Dead Lands was released in 2014, some called … Read more
We need Māori voices in parliament who aren’t beholden to the major parties, writes former Green Party policy co-convenor and candidate Jack McDonald (Taranaki, Ngāti Haupoto). I was one of those kids that was always interested in politics. I have early blurry memories of excitedly watched election night results. In our primary school leaving book, … Read more
On day 1,173 of the occupation at Ihumātao, it was announced that a resolution is imminent, and expected before Waitangi Day. Leonie Hayden reports from Māngere. This morning Kiingi Tuheitia travelled to Ihumātao and lowered the flag of the Kiingitanga. Six years after ancestral land at Ihumātao in Manukau was earmarked for a future housing … Read more
A group of Māori leaders have made an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim on behalf of the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, and issued a biting rebuke to Jacinda Ardern and Peeni Henare. What’s this ‘no confidence’ about, then? Some of Aotearoa’s most powerful wāhine have had enough. A statement from the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) … Read more
A new programme replacing woodwork at two Hamilton intermediate schools is helping young Māori connect through the art of whakairo. Outside the wharenui bearing his carvings, Matua Rei Mihaere drives his closed fist through the air. Thirteen pairs of eyes look up at him as he asks, “If you see this at home or anywhere, … Read more
It’s estimated that as many as half a million Papuans have been killed at the hands of Indonesian security forces over the past 50 years. Not holidaying in Indonesia is an easy way to say you’re not OK with that, writes Morgan Godfery. Would you have gone on holiday in apartheid South Africa? I suspect … Read more
New Zealand’s first language is endangered. We can’t afford to normalise misspelling and mispronunciation any more than it already is, writes Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins. If it really was just a joke, then why did some respond with racism? One of our most well-known food companies, Watties, launched a campaign recently that deliberately misspelled … Read more
In the latest from our pop-up podcast, The Spinoff Book Out Loud, Leonie Hayden looks at the 2019 Māori media review and asks ‘where’s the love for writers?’ Listen to Madeleine Chapman on life after those chip rankings, here, Alex Braae on Extinction Rebellion, here, Alex Casey on Sensing Murder, here, and Toby Manhire on the … 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 this episode: Ihumātao and a new generation of resistance. It’s an interesting time to be indigenous. Or is that what every generation says? Every day when … Read more
Architectural designer Jade Kake looks at the role tikanga and hapūtanga plays in Māori architecture and design, and how tauiwi architects can support Māori practitioners. The notion of tikanga Māori as it relates to architecture is something I’ve had reason to give some thought. This discussion has become increasingly vital as the prevalence of iwi, … Read more
Summer reissue: A lot of knowledge has been lost about traditional Māori attitudes to menstruation, but some extraordinary Māori women are making sure it’s not lost forever, writes Leonie Hayden First published 17 April 2019 Like a bolt of lightning out of the blue it sometimes occurs to me that a thing I’m doing, or … Read more
Summer reissue: 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 First published 29 October, 2019. “It’s the way it is.” … Read more
Summer reissue: An exhibition of Dutch-New Zealand artist Theo Schoon at the City Gallery in Wellington set off a debate about the place of racially problematic work in public spaces. Lana Lopesi reports on the ongoing protests, and how they connect to the activism at Ihumātao. First published 8 August, 2019. When Theo Schoon: A … 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