Moana Maniapoto, Author at E-Tangata

Calling in on The Godfather

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Jul 18, 2021 | Reo

“I sometimes get: ‘Kei te takahi koe i taku mana’ — you’re trampling on my mana. And I think to myself: ‘Well, you’re murdering my language. Which one is it going to be? Murdering my language or your mana?’” — Tīmoti Kāretu.

Remembering Richard Nunns

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Jun 20, 2021 | Arts, Reflections

“He looked more Pākeha than any Pākehā I knew . . . But his was a life deeply immersed in te ao Māori. He was one of the best taonga puoro players in the world. A leading force behind their revival.” — Moana Maniapoto on Richard Nunns.

Justice Joe Williams: Let’s try and get it right

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | May 16, 2021 | Kōrero

“Both sides are saying: ‘We want to do it a different way.’ It’s just no longer right to say evil nasty Crown, good angel iwi. It’s not like that at all.” — Supreme Court judge Sir Joe Williams.

Jemaine Clement: ‘They’re tough here’

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Mar 2, 2021 | Arts

“New Zealanders are fiercely reticent. They don’t want to stand out, whereas in America they just go: ‘Wow.’” — Jemaine Clement on New Zealand audiences.

Talking with Tame

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Feb 14, 2021 | Kōrero

“Being a short-arse, I got bullied hard by people. So I had to learn how to move, to look after myself.” — Tame Iti.

A man of contradictions

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Oct 11, 2020 | Kōrero

“When you ask me whether I’m in parliament as a Māori? No, I’m a New Zealander lucky enough to have Māori in my background.” — Winston Peters.

‘Only a global movement can eradicate racism’

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Jul 5, 2020 | Kōrero

“When we say that we’re struggling for Black lives, it’s not just for Black people, it’s for a different framework, a different system, a different future. A future that involves all of us.” — Angela Davis.

Atareta Poananga: Elegant and unflinching

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | May 10, 2020 | Reflections

She described Pākehā as “the product of the riffraff, the flotsam and jetsam of British culture.” — Moana Maniapoto on Atareta Poananga, who died just over a week ago.

Our new normal is aukati and rāhui

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Mar 29, 2020 | Comment & Analysis

Whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and aroha will get us through, writes Moana Maniapoto. But stay in your bubble.

Shane Jones: ‘I’m a bit of a stirrer’

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Mar 8, 2020 | Kōrero

“I’ve always detected a growing level of smugness and snobbery amongst the woke leadership and I’m just never going to tolerate that.” — Shane Jones.

Pimp my reo

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Feb 9, 2020 | Reo

“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.”

A call to war?

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Nov 17, 2019 | Comment & Analysis

“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.

Restoring mana and confidence

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Sep 1, 2019 | History

“We want to work shoulder to shoulder with this government rather than head-to-head headbutting.” — Ngahiwi Tomoana, Kahungunu leader.

How can there be justice if the process isn’t just?

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Aug 25, 2019 | History

“If someone had said to me in 2008, I’d be turning the Whanganui River into a legal person — or parliament would be — I would have laughed.” Chris Finlayson, former Treaty negotiations minister.

Treaty Negotiators: Not a job for wimps

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Aug 18, 2019 | History, Reflections

“It was so stressful. I told my lot I just want to be Pākehā for a while.”

Maria: A Love Story

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Apr 14, 2019 | Reflections

“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.”

Brown were in town. We were on a high. Hope was in the air.

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Feb 10, 2019 | Media

At the heart of the problem is the hare-brained notion that the primary goal for the Māori media is preserving and promoting the Māori language.

The Unforgiven

Posted by Moana Maniapoto | Sep 2, 2018 | Reflections

“The big challenge is how we as whānau and communities confront this terrible darkness, this sad duality that creates such a tragic legacy. There is no quick fix. It requires an open and honest conversation.”—Moana Maniapoto