Gordon Toi: A top gun in tā moko
“I see moko as a reflection of our society. We’re now at a stage where we can celebrate who we are as Māori people.”
Kōrero
History
New Zealand Wars, Land Wars, or Māori Wars — why does the name matter?
What should we call the series of conflicts that raged between the Crown and groups of Māori from 1845 to 1872?
History
What caused the New Zealand Wars?
“This was bigger than just land ownership. It went to the heart of how Māori and Pākehā would live together.”
Teuila Percival: There’s more to being a doctor than medicine
“The further you get into medicine, the less important the science becomes. What’s more important is the social activism side.”—South Auckland paediatrician Teuila Percival.
Indira Stewart: When one of us wins, all of us win
“When I think about the shortage of Pasifika journalists, I'm a bit surprised there aren't more of us, because we're powerful storytellers and we always have been.”—Indira Stewart, host of RNZ's new morning news show First Up.
Rees Tapsell: Dad wasn’t soft on us
“Teaching your kids that they need to develop some resilience and strength of character is essential, but it's just as important that they know and feel the love from the people bringing them up.”
Monty Soutar: Making sure our soldiers aren’t forgotten
The soldiers of the Māori Battalion never envisaged that, for their descendants, the rates of incarceration, ill-health, and unemployment were going to soar when they came back from the war.
Comment & Analysis
Israel Folau’s demise is also partially ours
"Israel Folau’s demise is one that I can’t fully celebrate as a gay Pasifika person."—Seuta'afili Dr Patrick Thomsen.
The Far Right is Right Here
“The number of far right groups or individuals isn’t important. It is their potential to harass and intimidate, and to be violent.”
The connection between white supremacy and colonisation
“The Christchurch terrorist was not some ‘lone wolf’ psychopath. He may have acted alone, but he drew upon the shared ideas and history that still lurk in the shadows of every country that has been colonised.”
Standing still in the whirlwind
"We haven't 'lost our innocence', as so many have said. We never had any."
Reflections
Merata — a son’s tribute
“My hunger for the past came out of a need to process my own grief, rather than a desire to study the history.” — Hepi Mita, on making a film about his mum, Merata.
A river calls my name
“Of first importance, the river. Of second importance, the river.”— Kennedy Warne on the Whanganui River.
The history I wasn’t taught
The 150th anniversaries of several brutal events in our local and national history has prompted Ernie Barrington to dip into the history books — to remember “episodes that call out to be remembered and not to be airbrushed away”.
Breaking the Mould: I am a Pacific Professional
“Traits like humility and service are not typically associated with leadership in New Zealand workplaces, yet in the Pacific context they are among the most valued characteristics a leader can possess.”
Identity
I’ve tried to learn Tongan, and I’ve tried to be Tongan
"Being an outsider because of my personality quirks was an identity I could embrace. Better than being defined purely by my lack of culture and language. Give me Crazy Pālangi over plain Pālangi any day."
My mother is Pākehā — and I love her
When I hear a child saying she hates Pākehā, it doesn’t sit right with me. It’s the same when I hear people referring to the “bloody Pākehās”.
Old certainties, old prejudices, old fears are losing their grip
The good news is that the country seems to be in a process of recovery — and for Pākehā, discovery — of the Māori conceptual world.
Why I didn’t sit with the other Māori girls at school
I grew up in a predominantly Pākehā town in the South Island. My mother is Pākehā. My father, who...
Reo
Rawiri Wright: It’s cool to be Māori
“I believe absolutely that the Kura Kaupapa Māori Aho Matua is the way forward for us to revitalise and regenerate ourselves as Māori.”
Māori media revamp: Where’s the focus on quality journalism?
Being a good reo speaker doesn’t necessarily qualify you as a good reporter.
Cathy Dewes: We have a right to be Māori in our own land
"Our goal is that all Māori children should have access to their language and be able to live as Māori in Aotearoa."
Media
This is not the time for white voices
“Everyone has their say in a democracy. But mostly the people who have their say in public life in New Zealand are white.”—Steve Braunias
Conversations: Lifting our voices
Our stories create the lens through which we see ourselves and our neighbours and the world around us.
Conversations: It’s about serving our communities
“Our women look at people as if everyone is important and everyone belongs to one of the communities they serve.”
Our future is in collaboration
“Let’s put aside those old battle tactics of divide and conquer, a tool that has pitted us against each other."
Arts
Whiti Hereaka: My advice? Let yourself write terribly
“It's okay to be a bad writer in your first draft because a lot of the craft of writing is in the rewriting.”
Robyn Bargh: Building the wall of tino rangatiratanga
“I always used to think that the work we were doing was adding another brick to the wall — the wall of rangatiratanga.”—Robyn Bargh, founder of Huia Publishers.
Madeleine Sami: No holding her back
"I was so lucky to grow up with my 23 cousins. We all liked to joke around. I was used to banter and coming back with one-liners. And being a smartarse."
Rose Matafeo, Edinburgh, and the Pacific arts pantheon
Comedian James Nokise, an Edinburgh Fringe festival veteran of seven years, on why Rose Matafeo winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award last week is a very big deal.
History
Forever Brave
"No infantry battalion had a more distinguished record, or saw more fighting, or, alas, had such heavy casualties as the Māori Battalion." — Extracts from the book: Ake Ake Kia Kaha E! Forever Brave!
Don’t get me started on compulsion
Maybe it's too late for some of us to learn our history, but why subject our children and mokopuna to the same fate?
Humanity and honour at Gate Pā
“The humanity of the Māori defenders at Gate Pā is what makes that battle stand out from every other colonial conflict in this country. It was something that truly captured the Victorian sentiment of the day.”
The Boss Is Dead: A tribute to Hiwi Tauroa
“Hiwi was perfect to be a Conciliator. He was not an angry man. He was a naturally diplomatic kind of guy, yet had the capacity to set his jaw, dig his heels in, and rark his voice up a bit.”
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