As the University of Otago Māori student body grows, so too do their aspirations for a space to call their own. In March, the University of Otago’s Vice Chancellor Harlene Hayne announced a 10% increase in Māori students, and over a decade of uninterrupted year-on-year growth in both Māori and Pacific enrolments. The university says its … Read more
Geopolitical commentator Graham Cameron looks at the lessons learned at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues over the past two weeks. Law professor Valmaine Toki is purported to have described the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as a “huge Waitangi Tribunal.” Did she mean unpopular, underfunded and ignored or an opportunity … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to co-founder of Reobot, Jason Lovell, whose IBM Watson-powered chatbot allows you to practise conversational Māori via Facebook Messenger. ONE: How did Reobot start and what was the inspiration behind it? I want to … Read more
Grief is tough to navigate, wherever you come from. An incident involving the public sprinkling of ashes started a conversation this week on cultural belief versus the freedom to mourn however you need to. Spinoff Ātea editor Leonie Hayden talks to funeral director Francis Tipene about the tikanga around ashes and cremation. On Tuesday night … Read more
This week a group of young Māori leaders are at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to address the building of a billion dollar prison on confiscated Māori land. Established in 2000, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is one of three UN bodies mandated to deal specifically with indigenous rights. Since the … Read more
According to the government, the new Crown/Māori Relations portfolio was introduced (among other things) to improve the way government departments engage with Māori and find new and different opportunities for more active partnership. But what does that actually mean? Not sure what the new Crown-Māori Relations portfolio is all about? Don’t worry – neither is … Read more
Nichole Brown shares a beautiful personal essay about how her daughter’s thirst for knowledge has reignited her love for her te reo Māori. Shoes inside. That was my ultimate act of defiance against my mother’s tongue. Wearing shoes inside. It might not seem like much, but inside I felt like I was screaming rebellion at my … Read more
Smoked kahawai, hāngi-cooked pork and watercress dressing are just a selection of what fusion food truck Pūhā & Pākehā has to offer. Jihee Junn talks to one-half of the couple behind the rising business on filling a gap in the market, the challenges of cooking fusion food, and why a permanent restaurant might well be … Read more
Yesterday a nearly 70,00-strong petition was presented to Parliament calling for the revocation of Sir Bob Jones’ knighthood following racist comments made in the NBR. Kera Sherwood O’Regan was there. A petition containing 68,760 signatures asking for the removal of business magnate Sir Bob Jones’ knighthood was presented at a pōwhiri on Parliament steps yesterday, following … Read more
Brendaniel Weir backgrounds his novel of a gay affair between Pākehā and Māori lovers. My first love was a Māori man. Let’s call him Wiremu. I was 16. He was several years older than me and a whole world more experienced. I can hear the knee-jerk reaction of people reaching for the paedophile/abuser label but … Read more
After a fraught election, Labour’s Māori caucus is going head to head with the Iwi Chairs Forum. The change of government has signaled a profound change in iwi relationships with the Crown. In the past 17 years, the corporate iwi model was the power ascendent at the Iwi Chairs Forum, and has proven to be … Read more
Hamilton mayor Andrew King has withdrawn his proposal to rename the council Kirikiriroa City Council after widespread opposition. Proud local Horiana Henderson looks at the history of the name and explains why it’s a missed opportunity. Hamilton city’s mayor, Andrew King, swayed attention from the contentious 10-year plan this week when he asked to explore … Read more
What’s in a name? Once again not much, if you’re an NRL commentator. The 2018 edition of the NRL kicked off last night, with a new look St George-Illawarra Dragons drawing a packed house for their clash with the Brisbane Broncos. Things have changed down in the land of the famed Red V, with a … Read more
Journalist Mihingarangi Forbes was the MC of Wednesday’s launch of #Suffrage125 – the 125th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage petition. There were oysters, cakes and many prominent New Zealand women. But there was an important voice missing. Why on International Women’s Day did I wake up feeling hōhā? My great-great-grandmother Jennie Lovell-Smith was part of … Read more
On some scores, the National Party is streets ahead on Māori representation. But, asks Morgan Godfery, is it progress? Every politician keeps a list of regrets, and Labour politicians keep lists longer than most: they were the neoliberals, the foreshore and seabed thieves, and the slowpokes. If things were right and proper Simon Bridges would … Read more
Literally tens of people lined the streets of Vermont to watch the opening ceremony of The Bachelor Winter Games, which debuted in the US on Valentine’s Day. And then New Zealand appeared. It’s not news that as a nation we’re particularly fascinated by how the rest of the world sees us. I’ve died inside more … Read more
An announcement: We will no longer be responding to all the tired old opinions on Māori language and culture trotted out by people with no lived experience of being Māori in Aotearoa. Instead, we will rank them here. You know what’s tiring? Like, so deep-in-your-bones exhausting your very marrow puts on trackpants and goes back … Read more
Rangatira ki te rangatira: Ardern’s approach to Waitangi commemorations offers the chance to break from the bad old days under PMs of both parties, writes Annabelle Lee Every Waitangi it’s the same. The lack of gratitude shown by Māori at being among the poorest, sickest, most unemployed and incarcerated people in Aotearoa is an ongoing source … Read more
On Sunday, Stuff revealed that Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui received Treaty payment top-ups totaling $370 million thanks to a ‘relativity clause’ in their original settlement. Language used in the report implied the payments were furtive and excessive. Here’s why they’re not. Relativity clauses are in the news again, with the “revelation” by Stuff.co.nz that both … Read more
Blockades barring people from using a wharf on Matakana Island in the Western Bay of Plenty have drawn the ire of visitors and tourist operations, with some accusing local hapū of “taking the law into their own hands.” Tauranga Moana local Graham Cameron defends their kaitiakitanga and challenges views on land use and ownership. I … Read more
Inspired by Jonah Lomu and the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Churchill High School in Harare, Zimbabwe, has adopted and adapted ‘Ka Mate’, the haka made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks. Photojournalist Cornell Tukiri travelled to Harare see for himself and to ask: is this OK? Words and images by Cornell Tukiri. When a … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In a new series, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker asks Māori health professionals for their recommendations for a more equitable health system. It could just be me, but these first months of a … Read more
The tohutō (macron) is an important and powerful part of te reo Māori. Simon Day explains how to use it. The macron matters. The use of the tohutō is essential for the pronunciation, meaning, and status of te reo Māori. When you see a vowel with its hat on it means the sound is held … Read more
Most of my life growing up I was the clean cut Māori boy with the short and tidy haircut, but all of that changed nearly three years ago, writes Te Miri Rangi. This story was first published on 21 November 2017. Through my journey of understanding more about how my Māori worldview can shape my … Read more
Dan Taipua explores indigenous ideologies in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, New Zealand’s highest grossing film of 2017. This story was first published on 31 October 2017. Without a doubt, Taika Waititi is the finest New Zealand filmmaker of his generation. At the time of writing, Thor: Ragnarok is the most critically well-received Marvel movie of all … Read more
December 22, the longest day, is here and Tamanuiterā, the sun, must start his long journey back to winter. When the star Rehua (Antares) rises above the horizon before dawn, we know that the days have become full and long. Together with the blooming pōhutukawa and the nesting kererū, our tūpuna recognised these signs as … Read more
Currently studying abroad, Miriama Aoake is coming face-to-face with international museum ethics and the exploitation of tangata whenua for taonga. On the first floor in the northern wing of the British Museum there is a tiled urupā with glass tombs. Past the gift shop, through the twin doors and left at mo’ai (whanaunga from Rapa … Read more
This week Tasman Rugby Union are announcing a small name change with potentially huge consequences. The mako shark is found in waters throughout the world, but its name comes from here – a Māori word referring to both the shark and its teeth, with variations within New Zealand (mango in some dialects) and other Polynesian … Read more
Just as mamaku holds the earth together after landslides, so too can it heal wounds and infections in us, explains Donna Kerridge. Mamaku (Cyathea Medullaris), also known as kōrau, katātā and pītau, is one of my favourite rongoā. It is the largest of our tree ferns and prefers damp soils and frost free hillsides. At … Read more