A celebration of the resurgence of the maramataka. Many indigenous cultures around the world have their own version of the maramataka which aligns with the phases of the moon, rather than the common Gregorian calendar. Māori and our Pasifika cousins are reviving and reconnecting with the maramataka to restore systems and knowledge of agricultural productivity, … Read more
Charter schools are no silver bullet, but the principle behind kura hourua is a form of rangatiratanga (sovereignty) in action. The kōhanga reo example is a reminder that Māori education is too important to fall victim to partisan battles, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. The Anglican missionaries who arrived in Aotearoa in 1814 came with a mission: convert … Read more
Whangārei architect Jade Kake has made a career changing behaviour through design, decolonising Māori thought patterns and outcomes through altering the environment in which they take place. But her next project at Te Rewarewa is by far the most ambitious yet. Don Rowe reports. There are few living arrangements as seemingly distant from te ao … Read more
Dr Lance O’Sullivan has issued a challenge to Phil Twyford after concluding state housing is a direct cause of kids becoming chronically ill. I recently moved from Northland to Auckland and coming from there I thought I knew what poverty was. On my second day of working as a GP here in Auckland I was … Read more
A new film following five courageous families healing in the wake of suicide premieres at the NZ International Film Festival this month. Kayne Peters meets the Albert whānau of Maui’s Hook. Content warning: suicide. Suicide is a topic many Kiwis shy away from but the reality is, every three days a young New Zealander takes … Read more
Chef Luke Adams shares three delicious Māori dishes. As he whipped up an on-trend beetroot and farro concoction in the kitchen of a cafe in Auckland’s Newmarket, Luke Adams talked us through how to make something very different — the kai he was raised with. Adams (Te-Uri-o-Tai hapū, Te Aupōuri iwi) is head chef at … Read more
Kaitāia’s Te Ahu centre is a lot of things to a lot of people – a taonga, a service, a symbol of progress, a happy distraction. Te Ahu looms large in the relatively small Kaitāia township, but it does so with its arms flung open wide, welcomning you inside. The 2300-square metre complex is a … Read more
Ka puta Matariki ka rare whānui, ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e! Matariki reappears, Vega starts its flight. The new year begins! Matariki is a period of reflection and renewal. An opportunity to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. As we move into the new year, it … Read more
Many of the children abused in state care facilities over the past 40 years have grown up lost in the system. Ricky Houghton decided to overthrow the system completely. He Korowai Trust CEO Ricky Houghton comes from the Pita Sharples school of style – a perfectly moussed mullet, a sharp leather jacket and a gentle … Read more
Three extraordinary women have taken their design and architecture skills and created a training programme for some of the country’s most vulnerable rangatahi. Head north on state highway one, stopping for a sandwich among the bright and busy architecture of Kawakawa. Past Moerewa’s giant AFFCO meatworks, glowering on the edge of town like a taniwha … Read more
The arguments for a national day to commemorate the New Zealand Wars are strong, but each iwi also has its own case for holding it on a separate date, writes RNZ’s Shannon Haunui-Thompson. Many believe that for a true process of education, reconciliation and healing, the larger national day has to prevail. Te Pūtake o … Read more
Rather than waste our energies finger pointing, taking collective responsibility for tackling the complex underlying causes of youth offending has a better chance of success, argues Principal Youth Court Judge John Walker When we hear about an aggravated robbery of a dairy or service station by a young person, and we read about the long-term … Read more
An education system must work for all. Let’s deal with the issues rather than wholesale abandon the Kura Hourua concept, argues Carrie Stoddart-Smith. There is a saying that policy is a contact sport. Never has that been truer than when it comes to education. In particular, when it comes to feelings about Kura Hourua (charter … Read more
A lot has been made of a ‘less disruptive’ and ‘protest-free’ Waitangi Day this year. It’s misguided praise, writes Miriama Kamo. I find praise of a peaceful Waitangi Day jarring. The absence of protest is not the indicator of a successful Waitangi Day. Whether protest occurs or does not occur is not the measure of … 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
The exhumed skull of a 3,000-year-old Welshwomen. Nazi submarines. Ancient Spanish shipwrecks. The pre-Māori white civilisation theories of Noel Hilliam and his friends have a lot going for them. Except any plausible evidence, writes Scott Hamilton. This post was first published May 22, 2017. I spent part of last week at an art gallery in Manurewa, helping to … Read more
As well as being the official NZ Wars commemoration date, October 28 is celebrated by Northland iwi for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document that recognised Māori sovereignty, explains Miriama Aoake. In 1835, 34 rangatira signed He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tīreni, the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes … Read more
Radio New Zealand has released a 30-minute documentary on the battle at Ruapekapeka, an incredibly sophisticated pā in the far north where 400 Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine warriors stood against a combined British force of 1600. Don Rowe attends the premiere, and considers what it means for New Zealand’s self-image. There are good guys in this … Read more
The Stories of Ruapekapeka is a special online project by RNZ and Mihingarangi Forbes about Northland’s most infamous armed conflict. Historian Vincent O’Malley writes about the importance of acknowledging the darker episodes of New Zealand’s past. The battle of Ruapekapeka, fought in January 1846, was the final engagement in the war that Britain lost, as James … Read more
To the sound of country music, long suffering Northland rugby fan Scotty Stevenson fears a winning season could be inevitably lost. The night was decent enough for rugby. Northland was slowly emerging from its traditional wet winter and the evening promised to remain clear. A southerly wind chilled the dusk but it wasn’t enough to … Read more
The campaign for the Māori seats has been defined by drama and intrigue, with noble families protecting ancient fiefdoms and usurpers lurking around every corner like some kind of popular fantasy series. As of 19 September, 241,602 people were enrolled on the Māori electoral roll with the 18 – 24 group by far the largest … Read more
After several years of flirting with the bloodsport we call politics, 2014 New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O’Sullivan has entered the fracas, announcing he will run for the Māori Party in 2020. But why? And what does he stand for? Don Rowe finds out. When I profiled Dr Lance O’Sullivan last year he … Read more
The party led by Te Ururoa Flavell and Marama Fox is at once clinging by a thread and on the brink of the balance of power. Morgan Godfery examines the crucial battlegrounds in the Māori seats Don Brash is waking each morning at 3am, cold sweat crawling across his face, and reaching for his iPhone. … Read more
The election has thus far been dominated by Metiria Turei’s admission of historic benefit fraud, and its impact on both Labour and the Greens. But Dr Lance O’Sullivan argues that the conversation about welfare Turei wanted to start never really happened. I’m a product of a beneficiary, of a welfare dependant family. My mum was … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s first week as Labour leader has brought a flood of admiring comparisons to Helen Clark. But Miriama Aoake argues that the comparison is false, largely because Ardern has proven more engaged with the concerns of Māori than the far more cynical Clark. Jacinda Ardern last week became the Labour Party’s fifth leader since Helen … Read more
In the first of a new monthly column by Dr Lance O’Sullivan, the former New Zealander of the Year addresses the anti-establishment mood, and the potential of technology in the internet age to both challenge and enhance science and medicine. There is nothing new about rebelling against elites, but there is a deepening mood of … Read more
Last night Dr Lance O’Sullivan, 2014 New Zealander of the Year for his work bringing health programmes to disadvantaged rural areas, leapt onto the stage to protest a screening of the controversial anti-vaccination movie Vaxxed. He spoke to Don Rowe about why he did it. Why did you get on stage? Look, I was always intending … Read more