Maoritanga News
Eastern Bay of Plenty Iwi accept $100-million settlement
Iwi in the Eastern Bay of Plenty have voted to accept a $100-million settlement offer from the Crown, marking an end to nearly 30 years of negotiation. The Whakatōhea iwi’s treaty settlement has been one of the longest running, with an initial $40-million offer rejected in 1996. In the Crown’s current offer, accepted by the […]
Indigenous remains returned to New Zealand from Austria
The remains of 49 Māori and Moriori people, taken by an Austrian taxidermist, have been returned to the country. The remains were brought back to New Zealand last month from the Natural History Museum, Vienna. They were taken from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek, who lived […]
Use of Māori language in New Zealand media is growing
The use of te reo Māori in New Zealand media continues to accelerate, according to data science specialists Dot Loves Data. The company analysed 2.3 million media articles published between 2008 and 2022 by New Zealand’s six main media outlets to determine the frequency of Māori word usage. The analysis showed the number of Māori […]
Endangered Māori construction methods used to rebuild historic wharenui
Internationally acclaimed New Zealand architect and researcher Professor Anthony Hoete has returned from the United Kingdom to help revive ancient Māori construction techniques. He will lead a team from the University of Auckland that aims to rebuild a historic Bay of Plenty wharenui (meeting house) that was destroyed in the 1931 Napier earthquake. The reconstruction, […]
Māori tourism operators supported by government fund
Māori tourism businesses are reporting that a targeted government funding boost is assisting their post-pandemic recovery. Last year the government announced funding support of $15 million to be delivered over two years. The goal of the fund is to safeguard the businesses of Māori tourism operators in the short term, and to help them prepare […]
Taranaki author’s Māori language book has global reach
A Taranaki linguist’s book on the Māori language has reached audiences around the world. Since its release last year, Keri Opai’s latest book Tikanga: An introduction to Te Ao Māori has sold more than 10,000 copies globally. The guide provides insights into how the Māori world operates, with Opai keen to keep it as user-friendly […]
First public holiday to celebrate Matariki
New Zealanders will have their first Matariki public holiday on Friday 24 June. The celebration marks the beginning of the Māori new year. Matariki is the name of a star cluster also known as Pleiades. During New Zealand’s winter, the star cluster is visible before sunrise towards the northeast horizon. Its appearance heralds the end […]
How Māori knowledge could help New Zealanders turn their concern for the environment into action
This article written for the news organization ‘TheConversation’ and is based on a presentation given at a Sanctuaries of New Zealand workshop earlier this year on the theme of iwi and conservation. As world leaders continue negotiations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, several agreements reached so far have acknowledged the connection between climate […]
Māori Party launches petition to change official name of New Zealand to Aotearoa
The Maori Party has launched a petition to change the official name of New Zealand to Aotearoa. “It’s well past time that te reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country. We are a Polynesian country, we are Aotearoa,” Māori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi said at […]
What is Māori Language Week?
Māori Language Week (Māori: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language, which, along with New Zealand Sign Language, is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader revival of the Māori language. It […]