This weekend’s Garden Party festival in Wellington sees the premiere of Navigating the Stars, a live performance for families based on Witi Ihimaera’s acclaimed collection of the same name. Ahead of the show, Ihimaera spoke to his friend and former collaborator Whiti Hereaka about bringing the stories to the stage. Witi Ihimaera describes himself as … Read more
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori. In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came on, the inner city … Read more
Five years ago a group of local cousins began a campaign to stop a proposed Fletcher Building housing development and restore the whenua into iwi ownership. Yesterday a deal was signed paving the way for its return. Justin Latif speaks to the woman who started it all about how they defied the odds and the … Read more
A new series of videos uses comedy to debunk misinformation that’s proved to be particularly visible in South Auckland. Justin Latif spoke with local community leaders about why these theories find South Auckland such fertile ground, and what can be done to curtail their spread. “I have family who believes in all sorts of conspiracies … Read more
Tāmaki Makaurau is a city under construction, but are Māori and Pasifika architects and designers being given the opportunities they deserve? It seems everywhere you go in Auckland right now, there’s a new development of some sort. Whether it’s a new bridge, playground, some public housing or a refreshed streetscape, almost all these projects include … Read more
Locked down in Brisbane, chef Te Tangaroa Turnbull finally read the cookbook they’d been waiting for – and was moved to tears. Hiakai may be the most important cookbook yet written in Aotearoa. A foundation text for the use of traditional Māori ingredients, it deserves to be read alongside the likes of René Redzepi’s Noma … Read more
Across Aotearoa, Māori responded to the unique needs of their communities during the peak of Covid-19. Two Māori organisations share the lessons from their success. Hutia te rito o te harakeke Kei hea te kōmako e kō? Whakatairangitia, rere ki uta, rere ki tai; Ui mai ki ahau, He aha te mea nui o te … Read more
Matt Renata was a constant presence at Ihumātao, assembling what he calls a ‘church of the good vibes’. He tells Justin Latif about tackling the sceptics, and his work with old friend Pania Newtown. “Why do you believe in this colonised God?” That’s the question Protect Ihumātao co-leader Pania Newton put to church-minister-in-training Matt Renata … Read more
This weekend’s Te Ahi Kōmau festival will celebrate South Auckland’s fiery volcanic past and amazing local produce. Justin Latif visited the marae as the hāngī pits were being dug in preparation. Not all superheroes wear capes and not all chefs wear a toque and apron. Anthony Adlam is one such chef, described as the master … Read more
The fourth episode of Conversations That Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take takes a look at the role that mātauranga Māori could – or should – play in shaping the future of our country. The principle of cooperation is a crucial one in te ao Māori – as the oft-deployed and co-opted whakataukī states, he waka eke noa. … Read more
The National leader’s comments were rooted in political ideology rather than real-life experience, writes South Auckland nutritionist Mason Ngawhika, who believes the health of the community is a collective responsibility. I know virtually no one who is satisfied with their current weight or body composition. Meaning everyone I know is unable to take the personal … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties are promising on issues that affect Māori. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Te ao Māori is a fairly uneven policy area – the Māori Party lists more than 80 separate policies, … Read more
Simon Day didn’t learn te reo Māori as a child. Now a parent himself, he’s passionate about giving his sons the opportunity. My great grandfather, Tom French, was born under a tree at Waipapa marae in Kawhia, overlooking the black sands of the town’s harbour on the North Island’s west coast. As a young man … Read more
We’ve started this month with the fullness of the Rakaunui moon beaming and guiding us into Whiringa-ā-nuku (October) and Matiti Hana (the second summer phase). The native puawānanga (clematis) bear bright white flowers and kōrero of tākeke (Piper fish) and ngā korowhiti o Tangaroa (leaping mullet) emerge from our tūpuna stories. Maramataka is rooted in … Read more
Ehara i te mea kua whakaturehia te kawenga kia aro ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te rāngai tūmataiti pēnei tonu i te rāngai tūmatanui. Heoi anō rā, e rongo ana te ao pakihi i ngā kura mātauranga ka hua ake i te tika o te mahi ngātahi ki te Māori. Read the English language … Read more
Engaging with Te Tiriti o Waitangi isn’t mandated in the private sector like it is in the public sector. But businesses are discovering the wealth of knowledge to be found through meaningful engagement with Māori. Read the Māori language version of this story here. Embracing te ao Māori represents an opportunity for New Zealand businesses … Read more
One of our finest speculative fiction writers on how the Lord of the Rings fandom is damaging mana whenua. There are kākā on my porch. They are circling each other, fanning their beautiful green and red feathers. They’ve found the pāua shell my flatmate picked up on the beach last week. It is shiny, so … Read more
Mahuru/September marks the beginning of spring as well as the summer phases. It’s time to get planting! September is known as Mahuru, the start of spring. The name Mahuru is a shortened version of ‘Te ahunga o uruao’ which means the new generation of whitebait. Guess what the tohu is this month? The whitebait which … Read more
In the sixth part of a series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Arihia Latham reflects on the life lessons her daughters will take into a new future. This month we acknowledged te wā o Matariki me Pūanga, the Māori new year. It’s been a year huh. I have heard people … 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
Matariki Williams is Te Papa’s Mātauranga Māori curator. In an extract from Te Manu Huna A Tāne, she writes about how honouring the kiwi became a lesson in honouring her own heritage. This essay has been abridged by Williams and its original title is Into the Void. There is a photo on my sideboard. It … Read more
This powerful collection of photographs and essays catalogues three generations of Ngāti Torehina ki Matakā learning to pelt North Island kiwi. Nāu, nā te Pākehā te kurī me te ngeru nāna i huna ngā kai o te motu nei, te weka, te kiwi, te kākāpō, te piopio, me te tini o ngā manu o te … Read more
While many areas of the workforce have been shaken by the effects of Covid-19, a Ngāi Tahu futures lab has been working to give rangatahi Māori the opportunity to decide their own futures. Futurists have thought up myriad strategies for how the world should look post-Covid. For all its hurt, the global pandemic is offering … Read more
Could a taiao values approach to our economy be the key to bridging the gap between protecting our environment and prospering as people? Dr Amanda Black from the Bio-Protection Research Centre explains how. Aotearoa has been economically dependent on our primary sector for generations. But in this new Covid-19-framed world, that dependence will be magnified. … Read more
Budget 2020: Although it was called “Rebuilding Together”, it’s hard to see what exactly yesterday’s budget is rebuilding. Budget 2020 was never going to be a transformational budget. Not for Māori. Not for Aotearoa New Zealand. It is easy to understand the disappointment of many across the country who hoped for something more and who … Read more
Linda Burgess and Michael Hurst with quite different takes on a new book by New Zealand-born actress, playwright and writer Barbara Ewing. Michael Hurst This is a memoir very much written from the perspective of the present; evocative, authentic, humorous and poignant. Barbara Ewing approaches her subject via a series of diaries she kept all … Read more
A poem by Ngāti Hine/Ngāpuhi writer Nadine Anne Hura. Rest now, e Papatūānuku Breathe easy and settle Right here where you are We’ll not move upon you For awhile We’ll stop, we’ll cease We’ll slow down and stay home Draw each other close and be kind Kinder than we’ve ever been. I wish we … Read more
Poutūterangi is a lunar phase, usually around March, marked by the rising of the star of the same name, also known as Altair. It is also the sixth phase of summer, Matiti Rautapata. Poutūterangi shines bright in the sky this month which traditionally indicated a time of harvest. Today during Poutūterangi we see awesome festivities … 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