Finding your voice through the reo
“The hardest part about learning Māori, is learning how to think Māori.” — Tainui Stephens.
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Author: Tainui Stephens
My pepeha is my world
“I knew of relations in Auckland, but not of any tribe. All that the old man had told us was he was from ‘up north’. Oh good, that narrows it down then!” — Tainui Stephens.
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Oh Canada!
“Canadians are inclined to point to racism as something that exists in the USA. ‘We are not the USA!’” — Tainui Stephens.
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What will our rangatahi inherit?
“If I was a teenager today, I’d be anxious about the world I’m about to inherit. A job, a home, a family, clean air, and fresh water are well on their way to becoming luxuries.” — Tainui Stephens.
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Farewelling Tallulah
“I’m sad to see our Little Miss slide listlessly into a final acceptance that her magnificent animal frame is on its last legs. She writes the last page of that Ngāruawāhia chapter of my life.” — Tainui Stephens farewells a dear friend.
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Whina Cooper: Fearless and unforgettable
“For several decades, Whina’s astute brand of leadership had been shaped by the traditions of her elders and powered by her own mighty self-confidence.”
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‘Tell The Dead I’m Coming!’
“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”.
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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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