“Within Māori framings of the past, Cook has become one of the most potent symbols of empire and its bitter and enduring legacies.” — Historian Tony Ballantyne, author of ‘Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire’.
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“Back then, it wasn’t called Matariki. It was just winter. No one gave a shit about the stars in the sky.” — Haeatarangi Barker on welcoming Matariki as an adult.
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“Over the years, the questions have ranged from ‘Why do we need a Māori cultural liaison person at our workplace?’ to ‘How do we have hard conversations with colleagues to do better?’” — Atakohu Middleton on the questions people put in the Too-Hard Basket.
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“They were unwitting participants in the violence of colonisation, imperialism and capitalism, just as we, their descendants, continue to be today.” — Catherine Knight on her settler ancestors.
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“Cultural harm was no longer just ‘sad but unmeasurable’. It had become economically quantifiable. We’d created a bridge between how we understand our losses and how legal systems work.” — Atawhai Tibble.
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“Our collective future in this country depends on our willingness to show up — not as obedient subjects of the Crown, but as those who refuse to participate in the settler colonial project of disenfranchising Māori on their own whenua.” — Ara Alam-Simmons.
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“If the Indonesian government has its way, the area we’ve always called home, where we’ve lived and hunted for thousands of years, will cease to exist.”— Rosa Moiwend.
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“The spirit of our youth and people is one of determination. There is no going back. The fight for our dignity and freedom is a fight for all of humanity.” — Billy Wetewea in Kanaky.
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“What we’ve always said is this: We are not French. We are Kanak. Let us make our own decisions on our own land.” — Joseph Xulué.
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“Any government, including ours, which is serious about contributing to an international solution, would call for an immediate ceasefire. And then, secondly, keep reinforcing the fact that they support a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.” — Dr Chris Tooley.
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“The dangers of digital colonisation may not be obvious yet because, on the surface, technology seems to be advancing our reo and our connections instead of suppressing them.” — Siena Yates.
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“The proliferation of vape shops throughout Māori communities like ours is a clear example of the imposition of settler colonial law over our mana motuhake.” — Erin Matariki Carr.
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“It’s a doctrine that’s been used to give legality to things that are highly unjust.” — Claire Charters. “As you read the Vatican’s statement, it becomes less and less clear what the Pope wants us to forgive him for.” — Tina Ngata.
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“When there’s a peak in these claims and assertions of Māori privilege, then historically at least, we’ve seen that Māori have lost things.” — Peter Meihana.
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“I’ve been fortunate to contribute to big systemic change, but it’s the little acts, the personal struggles on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute basis that I find both potent and fascinating.” — Aroha Gilling.
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“The continued determination to negotiate with Māori men while ignoring Māori women, 154 years after the signing of the Treaty, is the gravamen of a claim recently lodged against the Crown before the Waitangi Tribunal.” — Ani Mikaere.
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“I remain in the public service, often as the only counter-narrative, and the only Māori voice, in innumerable projects and meetings.” — Aroha Gilling.
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“If he hadn’t taken on those fights, he could quite easily have buffered himself against the health issues. But he didn’t. He didn’t swerve. He didn’t flinch. He just kept on going.” — Ngahiwi Tomoana.
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“Vaccination is a necessary protection against Covid, but dealing with a living history and the ongoing discriminatory actions of the Crown requires more than just an injection in the arm.” — Moana Jackson.
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“I’ve always felt it’s important for us to clearly articulate what the trajectory of justice should look like for our people, and to articulate for ourselves our vision of justice.” — Tina Ngata.
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“Indonesia is as brutal in its tactics as all colonisers.” — Catherine Delahunty on West Papua’s fight for independence.
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“In this country, the potential exists to develop a different and unique decolonisation discourse because there are already stories which express the power of a different truth.” — Moana Jackson, from ‘Imagining Decolonisation’.
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“We have been hoarding stories about Cook for 250 years now. Some of those stories are valuable, important, useful. Most of them are junk.” — Alice Te Punga Somerville.
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Preserve the rangatiratanga of the mind, writes Rangi Kemara. Without it, you’re a slave.
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“There were laws here before the colonisers arrived . . . We had fully formed systems of law and social regulation.” — Khylee Quince.
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“The origins of the racism that is tearing the United States apart has deep parallels with New Zealand, and the origins are the same.” — Aaron Smale.
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“Despite well-intentioned health practitioners, the health system provides lower quality care for Māori.” — Dr Papaarangi Reid.
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“The building of new relationships and the telling of new stories begins with the identification and ‘un-telling’ of colonisation’s past and present lies.” — Moana Jackson.
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“My culture is not the cause of, and therefore not the solution to, contemporary Māori health inequities.” — Dr Elana Curtis
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“Denying racism provides cover for racist attitudes and excuses for unequal outcomes. It gaslights people who’ve experienced racism, and blocks people who want to start the real work of moving beyond our colonial heritage.”
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