Nuku 100: The ambitious project by wāhine, for wāhine

Profiling 100 indigenous women – how hard can it be? Very bloody hard, it turns out. But worth every sacrifice, says Qiane Matata-Sipu. Qiane Matata-Sipu is many things to many people. She’s a journalist who has written for this very website. She’s an award-winning photographer. She’s an activist and one of the land protectors at … Read more

A time of reckoning: Racism and representation in media

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

The argument for Māori women speaking on the marae

There was a lot of kōrero at Waitangi this year about women’s speaking rights, both at Waitangi and around the motu. Dr Rawiri Taonui looks at the history. The call for Māori women to speak on marae was reignited this year when Mere Mangu, the chair of Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi, welcomed Prime … Read more

The angry brown woman: My issue with art schools

Art schools are seen by many as beacons of liberalism. But is this the reality? Former student Anna McAllister recounts her fraught journey through art school. This piece was first published on The Pantograph Punch. In high school, the only subjects I was remotely good at were the practical arts. I stayed in the art block … Read more

Decolonise your body! The fascinating history of Māori and periods

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

Decolonise your body! The fascinating history of Māori and periods

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 Like a bolt of lightning out of the blue it sometimes occurs to me that a thing I’m doing, or feeling, is a product of colonisation. When … Read more

Summer reissue: Moko kauae is the right of all Māori women. It is not a right for anyone else.

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

Blind justice: reimagining a mana wāhine legal system

A bold new book sees women rewriting historical judgments and dismantling how our legal framework is seen in indigenous and feminist terms. We hear much about the growing economic inequality in our society but rarely do we hear about how accepted frameworks, such as the rule of law and the associated legal system, contribute to … Read more