The Darkside
Picture this. In the week leading up to Labour weekend we’re in Strathmore. It’s typically a windy Wellington Wednesday, and despite bright sunshine it’s a …
Tag Archives: Maori
Building Bridges on canvas
One of NZ’s most respected Maori artists and pioneer of indigenous art in schools, John Bevan Ford, has died aged 75 from cancer. While tremendously skilled in traditional Maori wood carving, Ford is best perhaps known…
Ka Mate Ka Mate gets an American Accent
An American accent American College football team, the Brigham Young University Cougars have adopted their version of the haka Ka mate Ka mate. Lead by American-born Maori Bryce Mahuika, Utah’s Cougars have adopted the practice…
Coming to America
The largest exhibition of Maori art ever to show in the US opened at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts on August 4. Entitled Toi Maori Art from the Maori…
Rugby Fever Reaches New Heights
The All Blacks demolished the British and Irish Lions in three straight Tests, in one of the most highly anticipated rugby tours of recent years. The hype both at home and in the UK was spectacular,…
Owen Wilkes: Global Peace Activist
Owen Wilkes, the New Zealand peace activist and global peace researcher, has died in Hamilton aged 65. In a tribute written from Beijing by Peter Hayes, he said “Owen Wilkes was a profoundly wedded…
Kai to die for
Independent food writer Jenni Muir nominates Nelson and Marlborough as the lesser-known food capitals of NZ. In Nelson, she recommends foraging for kai-moana with guide Mike Elkington of Te Hikoi Maori. Matua Valley is…
New Zealand Riveria
To entice buyers to a resort development, Pip Cheshire and Terry Hunziker designed a rustic guest lodge Bay of Islands, a remote spot about 15 miles northeast of Auckland. Located in a part of the country…
Martian Rocks get Maori Names
The American space agency NASA has given Maori names to rocks on Mars, thanks to the influence of the film Whale Rider. The Mars robotic rover Opportunity is exploring near a cliff named after the late…
Home to Rest
In November, NZ became one of the last participants of WW1 to create a tomb of the unknown soldier. The soldier’s remains arrived from France to an emotional Maori and military welcome, and were interred at the…
Lord Gazza
Gisborne builder Gary Lewis became the first Maori member of the British Royal Family with his marriage to Lady Davina Windsor at Kensington Palace. Lewis is the son of a former champion sheep-shearer and nephew to writer…
Aotearoa Uncovered
Female First delves deeper than the usual travel story, focusing primarily on the geographical and cultural make-up of NZ. “NZ comes with a reputation as a unique land packed with magnificent, raw scenery: craggy coastlines, sweeping beaches,…
Pioneer Storyteller
The death of ground-breaking NZ filmmaker Mike Walker was noted in the Scotsman, Miami Herald, and LA Times. Walker worked asa director, co-producer and co-writer on the films Kingi’s Story, Kingpin and…
He Maimai Aroha
Haere atu koutou hei whetu te rangi, tiaho mai mo ake tonu atu. He tohu aroha ki tenei morehu kuia. Rahera Windsor, spiritual leader of Britain’s Maori community, died May 3rd 2004 Born in Pupuke, 1925, she married…
Epic Moments Remembered
The world commemorated the 60th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, with war veterans and international leaders (including PM Helen Clark) gathering in France to pay their respects. NZ lost more soldiers proportionately than any other country…
Te Reo On Air
BBC notes the launch of NZ’s first nationwide Maori language TV station. The inaugural broadcast comes 13 years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government was legally bound (by the Treaty of Waitangi) to protect its…
Canterbrian Chinatown
An amateur English historian claims that NZ was discovered and settled by Chinese explorers well before the arrival of Maori. According to Cedric Bell, a Chinese city of 4,000 people was situated where the Botanical Gardens in…
A World in Pictures
British photojournalist, Joan Wakelin, died on September 23 aged 75. Wakelin is best known for her images of Sri Lankan boat-people, Australian Aboriginal and NZ Maori communities; the latter with which she had a special connection. She…
Fujinaki Tours Ltd.
29 October 2003 – Hoping that The Last Samurai will do for Taranaki what LotR has done for its various NZ locations, local guide James Heremaia has added the ‘A Mountain Like Fuji’ tour to his…
Pacific Edge Connections
Works by contemporary Maori artists including Vicky Lee Hipora Stark, Roi Toia (above, Pakake – Whale), Sandy Adsett, Fred Graham, and Robert Jahnke featured in the Kiwa Pacific Connections: Maori Art from Aotearoa exhibition held in Vancouver…
Wahine Takes Manhattan
Pania Rose, Australia’s latest supermodel has an Aotearoa genetic advantage: “After securing local campaigns for Country Road and the all-Aussie undies label , the 19-year-old has hit the big time in the US, scoring…
First Nations Clean Sweep
The NZ Maori rugby team emerged victorious from their 3-match tour of Canada, beating the home side 52-11, 65-27, and 30-9. Between 1994 and 2001, the NZ Maori side have beaten 12 international teams, including England, Scotland,…
Return of the Native?
As Whale Rider premieres in the UK, the Guardian ponders its impact as NZ and Maori cinema, and the cultural factors at play. “longside the celebration in New Zealand’s film industry, there has also…
Home Away From Home
A proposal to build the first functioning marae in America has been put forward by Maori citizens of Lehi, Utah. The state has one of the highest ratios of NZers per capita in the US, and includes…
Mrs Speaker …
“Just how a conservative and largely white electorate came to support an outspoken transgendered woman – of Maori (that is, indigenous non-white) descent, no less – is the story behind the remarkably engaging documentary Georgie Girl.” Annie…
Educational Skin Flick
Ta moko features in a Pacific Islanders in Communications documentary for PBS currently screening around the world. Skin Stories explores the art of tattooing, and its cultural significance, in Samoan, Hawaiian and Maori tradition.
Te Maori ki Te Ao – Paratene on Patriarchy
In an interview with SMH, Whale Rider star Rawiri Paratene discusses patriarchy – both within and outside of Maoridom – and the universal appeal behind the heart and award-winning film. “I think Maori stories well told can…
Inappropriation?
Shock-boxer Mike Tyson has paid a dubious tribute to Maori culture by having a moko-inspired design tattooed around his left eye. New York Post: “‘It was meant to be Maori-ish,’ one source said of the…
Te Reo on TV
The government has announced an increase of $7.075 million per annum for the Maori Television Service. MTS will eventually reach 86% of the population. “It is important to note that this is a greater level of coverage…
Biculiterature
The US readers’ magazine Pages (‘the magazine for people who love books’) focuses on literature from Aotearoa-NZ in its monthly global focus. Contributing editor Bethanne Kelly Patrick focuses on biculturalism and asks, “Maoris and Pakehas are…
“If It’s Made in Auckland It Looks Like the Future”
Spurred by the America’s Cup (“couldn’t be in a more fabulous setting”) Travel + Leisure checks out the evolving new world styles of Auckland: “The city has evolved over the past two decades from…
A Model Diet
British scientists have developed a type of pet food aimed at helping arthritic dogs. The “joint support” food contains NZ green-lipped mussels, which have an ideal combination of fatty acids and antioxidants for reducing pain caused by…
Uncle Sam’s Head?
The sale of Te Kuri/Young Nick’s Head to an American financier has not escaped international notice. Symbolic for both Maori and European firsts (reputed to be the first land seen by Captain Cook’s Endeavour), comparisons were…
Psathas & Kiri
NZ composer John Psathas and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa provided some of the high points at Manchester’s eclectic “Pulse Festival.” The concert was the climax to a six month exploration of Commonwealth arts entitled…
Haka Mancunian Style
New Zealand athletes received a special welcome on their arrival at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. After getting the green light from the Maori Minister of Education, students from Tarvin Primary School (Cheshire) performed an enthusiastic haka…
Luck of the Irish?
Michael Campbell rose to 16th in the world rankings and received a timely boost before the upcoming British Open by winning the European Open and half a million Euro winner’s cheque. But the Maori-NZer with the…
Surfing on the Web
Sailor Graham Dalton (older bro of Grant) has set up an educational website where children can watch his yacht “Hexagon” circumnavigate the globe as part of the Around Alone race yacht race beginning 15th September. Hexagon was…
Maori.nz?
A decision is close to being made by InternetNZ on the outcome of an application from the New Zealand Maori Internet Society to consider a new Net neighborhood for Maori-related Web sites.
BBC1 Haka Use Stirs Reaction
BBC1 uses the haka amongst a series of segments featuring multicultural imagery used to re-brand the British TV Channel, attracting reaction in NZ. Maui Solomon: “The Western culture, having all their own stories, are starting to mine…
Oxford, Sorbonne, Harvard … Multiversity?
A radical new education model is questioning the relevance of Western/colonial education system and the university model of higher learning. The project is called “Multiversity” and will focus on those supposedly excluded from First World education, Asia,…
NZ Founding Father of British Anthropology
Sir Raymond Firth, one of the world’s most prominent anthropologists, emeritus professor at London University, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and recipient of first Leverhulme medal (given to scholars of exceptional…
“Come Together”
Wearing a traditional Maori cloak of native bird feathers, the Queen calls on New Zealanders to work together to resolve lingering differences between indigenous Maori and the Government. Elizabeth II was on her 10th tour of…
Te Rangi Hiroa / Peter Buck
Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck’s achievements are astonishing for their diversity, reading more like a list of possible careers than a biography – a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor,…
NZ Hydro Pioneer Passes On
“Each time a switch is thrown on a toaster, in a woolshed or in a steel mill, there is an odds-on chance that John Malcolmson will have had a hand in generating the necessary electricity.” Malcolmson, originally…
Tattoo Culture
Renowned photographer Chris Rainier travels to New Zealand for his latest project on the culture of tattooing and scarification. Rainer features Maori tattoo art in his latest National Geographic spread.
Maori 3G Deal Secured
Pan-African cell phone operator, Econet Wireless, signs a deal with Maori to operate their license for running third generation mobile phones. The license was set aside last year by the New Zealand government for…
Land Purchase
1841: 1,214 acres of land around Waitemata Harbour purchased from Maori – the future site of Auckland city.
Get Up Stand Up – Kiwi Cultural Laboratory
New Zealand doesn’t get the attention it deserves as a “kind of cultural laboratory for issues such as the rights of indigenous inhabitants or the equality of women”.
Gone Fishing
Maori fishing rights seen as inspiration for other indigenous groups negotiating for sea rights.
Compensation Won
International interest raised by Waitangi Tribunal ruling on compensation for Moriori descendents of survivors of the 1835 Chathams massacre.
Tough Fight
New Zealand Maori “arguably the most committed and technically sound rugby race on the planet” threaten world champions Australia on their home turf. Also, NZ Maori match a focus for Sydney’s Maori community.
Dawn Ceremony
Maori dancers performed a traditional dawn ceremony opened by a conch shell in St Mark’s Square, Venice, to celebrate New Zealand’s participation in the Art Biennale.
Fishing for a Decision
The urban Maori/traditional iwi dispute over fisheries reaches the Privy Council in London, New Zealand’s highest appellate court.
Tohu Sauvignon
“The only wine in New Zealand (as far as I know) that’s made entirely by Maori. If you’ve grown tired of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, this gooseberry and passion fruit white, with its fresh acidity and real…
Captain Cayless
Sydney laments 22-year old Nathan Cayless’s decision to follow his Maori heritage home and captain the New Zealand league side.
Returning the Gaze
Early European explorers of the Pacific created a cult of the South Seas – Sir Joseph Banks, for example, had his portrait painted wearing a Maori cloak over his European dress. Now the Pacific refocuses the…
