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.
Kōrero
History
Forever Brave
“No infantry battalion had a more distinguished record, or saw more fighting, or, alas, had...
Matthew Tukaki: I’m making it up every day
“The story of my education is nothing if not consistent: I didn’t pass, but I had a good time."—Australian-based businessman Matthew Tukaki.
Ebony Duff: It’s my role to tell the Māori radio story
“It wasn’t until I went to Westlake Girls’ that I realised I was Māori. In Kaitaia, everybody’s Māori to some extent. Even the Pākehā or the Dallies.”
Paul Spoonley: We can be better at welcoming migrants
“I have a lot of faith in this country and in our people to navigate a future which is positive and which is probably different from anywhere else in the world.”
Pio Terei: ‘I’m meant to be here, bro’
“As Māori, we're unique. I don't think I'm better than anybody else, but I think I'm bloody just as good.”
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
Maria: A Love Story
“Maria Thompson became a part of the Jackson household after my son’s grandmother, June, found her on the streets and took her home. She stayed for over three decades.”
‘They’re not your fish’
History shows that it is invariably Māori who have been denied access by Pākehā to that which is precious to them, not the other way round.
The pros and cons of not looking Māori
“Being positioned as a “Māori” teacher came at a price. With this visible Māori identity came expectations from my colleagues that I was an expert on all things Māori.”
Listening to the People of the Land
Kennedy Warne has been a geographical explorer for 30 years, but he considers his most important exploration to have been cultural and spiritual: an awakening to te ao Māori.
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
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.”
Pukehinahina–Gate Pā: A personal Māori perspective
“Four generations from Pukehinahina–Gate Pā, my generation of our family is still looking at the future through yesterday’s lens and we will continue to do so.”—Buddy Mikaere
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