Merepeka

January 2026 WARNING: the following story deals with a motor vehicle accident causing death and may be distressing to some readers. Ko Motakiora tōku maunga Ko Manga-o-kewa tōku awa Ko tainui tōku waka Ko Ngāti Maniapoto tōku iwi Ko Ngāti Rora tōku hapū Ko Te Kūiti tōku marae Ko Te Tokanganui a noho te whare […]

Raviv – Part 2

September 2025 Sarah (ranger) came to me last year and said, Look, we have these health and safety boards, would you like one? I said, Yeah, that will be lovely, but what about one in te reo Māori? She gave me the one in English, and about three months later, she comes to me, here […]

Raviv – Part 1

September 2025 “I’ve worked for corrections for 14 years and so far, 220,080 trees in the ground. You know, a guy goes through the park. He sees one guy digging holes and one covering it. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘The guy that puts the plant in is off sick today!’ That’s a little Russian joke. […]

Chantelle (Tui)

“I te taha o tōku koroua; Ko Hikurangi te maunga Ko Waiapu te awa Ko Horouta te waka Ko Ōhako te marae Ko Ngāti Ruapani te hapu Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi I te taha o tōku kuia; Ko Makeo te maunga Ko Waiaua te awa Ko Mataatua te waka Ko Waiaua te marae Ko […]

Justice

“I grew up singing, songs being sung to me or with me. I guess coming from a kapa haka background, that was all I lived and breathed. What makes waiata and song so important for me is because it connects me back to my family and my whakapapa, but also helps me to connect to […]

Lou

“Tēnā koutou, ngā mihi nui mō te wiki o te reo Māori! Ahakoa iti, akona, kōrerotia ia rā, ia rā. Māori Language week is a week when the language I care deeply for is normalised. The week is all about breaking down barriers and giving others the opportunity to learn and the encouragement they need […]

Jan

“As a girl who left school at sixteen, I never dreamed of university education or in adulthood gaining a Ph.D. in chemistry. I didn’t know about my Māori heritage until a few years ago. I had no idea. I was brought up entirely Pākehā, but the first time I stepped onto a Marae to go […]