“In spite of all the opportunities in the mainstream Pākehā education system, having access to native speakers of te reo Māori is much more beneficial.” — Peter Lucas Jones.
“Sometimes we don't appreciate what's right under our noses until we go away from home. Then we tangi weto for our reo. And that's the situation for some of our Aussie whānau.”
“My sister always said I was a natural nosey parker as a kid. She reckons I’m really in the best position to do the work that I do — and that’s asking questions.”
“'Whatever you do, remember, you’ll never be a Pākehā.' Everyone then wanted their children to grow up in a Pākehā way. Speaking English was the norm, the wanted thing."
"How do we begin to have conversations about critical issues when we’re so far apart?"
"There’s a litany of examples, including admissions by the police themselves, of unconscious bias. Or racism, as we called it in the good old days." — Moana Maniapoto.
“Their tūpuna inhabit every room they enter, they embody every act, and they help guide every word.”
“The simplicity and universality of the NZ Superannuation model is the envy of many across the world, but it doesn’t address the needs of all — nor is it guaranteed to be sustainable without refinement.” — Peter Cordtz, interim Retirement Commissioner.
“In our town, the fire brigade has more callouts for accidents, medical emergencies and suicides than it does for fires.” — Lorene Royal.
"It's a mix of carnage and self-mockery." — Producer Tainui Stephens on The Dead Lands, a Māori take on a television genre that relies on "dollops of action and a lot of splatter".
Rakatira, visionary, reo champion, best mate, and hōhā! All of these terms were used to describe Tahu Pōtiki during his tangihanga on Ōtākou Marae last year.
“In the memory, there is just my mum, standing on the verandah, smiling, waving. I was annoyed she wasn’t crying.” — Becky Manawatu on leaving home.
“Except for church, our Sāmoan-ness never made it out the front door of our house.”
“I can’t think of a time I’ve been in such a mixed group. There is a vibe of considerateness, gentleness. People are careful with the kids, and with each other. If you make eye contact, people say 'Kia ora', even if you don’t say it first.”
"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."
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”.
“I’ve always wanted to be confidently fluent and, at times, I’ve felt like it’s been within my grasp. But then I let it slip away.”
“When the Māori Language Commission first opened its doors in 1987, te reo was viewed by many New Zealanders as something that would divide us. Māori language proponents were often seen as the enemy.”
“My greatest aspiration for the future of te reo is to have a mokopuna, so I can speak Māori to that mokopuna every day.”
“All the Māori students at Victoria wanted to be lawyers and accountants, but I only ever wanted to be a teacher.” — Sir Timoti Karetu.
“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.
“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
Our stories create the lens through which we see ourselves and our neighbours and the world around us.
“Our women look at people as if everyone is important and everyone belongs to one of the communities they serve.”
“In filmmaking, the essence is collaboration. For something to be really good, there needs to be different perspectives, techniques and skills from lots of different people.”
“There are lots of silly excuses that people offer for why there aren’t more of us published. They say, for instance, that we don’t like to write. We aren’t storytellers. We’re not readers. But that’s ridiculous.”
“Everybody knows what it's like to be on a first date. Or have rude thoughts. And, as long as you're being honest, it can be funny.” — Kura Forrester, Billy T award winner.
“It's okay to be a bad writer in your first draft because a lot of the craft of writing is in the rewriting.”
“What happened to our people has been, and to a large extent remains, an inconvenient truth and stain on the history and conscience of our nation.” — Moriori leader Maui Solomon.
“There is no credible evidence that any non-Māori — other than Tasman and his crew — visited New Zealand before Cook’s first arrival in 1769.”
“We didn’t know what we were getting into and how we would be received. We only knew that we had left, we were going to march, and nothing was going to put us off that.” — Tama Te Kapua Poata on the 1975 Māori Land March.
“The people who have marched before me, who have occupied spaces before me: their feet taking steps for change, their bodies on the line, their voices hoarse with conviction . . . they are the iceberg below the surface.”
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E-Tangata is an online Sunday magazine specialising in stories that reflect the experiences of Māori and Pasifika in Aotearoa.
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