Meriana Johnsen

Guest writer

Meriana Johnsen (Kāi Tahu, Rangitāne) is a freelance writer, studying te reo at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She writes about all things te ao Māori. Meriana is also the co-host of Nē?, The Spinoff's te ao Māori podcast.

Kaimahi from Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi at a mobile vaccination clinic (Photo: Supplied/The Spinoff)

1st April, 2022

More than any others, Māori are now lining up to get their first dose of the Covid vaccine

Among the more attention-grabbing daily Covid stats is one small number that attests to the tireless work of Māori health providers – first doses administered.

By Meriana Johnsen

Kaikōura (Image: Supplied, additional design by Tina Tiller)

24th March, 2022

In search of a place to just be Māori

'Without tikanga and kawa to ground, I’ve often felt untethered, caught up in the rush of the gusts blowing from every direction.'

By Meriana Johnsen

A Kaikoura tītī (Image: DOC)

24th December, 2021

A different way of seeing: Decolonising science through mātauranga Māori

Two University of Otago scientists on how Māori scientific knowledge has informed and expanded their work.

By Meriana Johnsen

Some of the Omaka aunties. Image: Richard Briggs

18th September, 2018

From the wharekai to the artisanal food market

A group of entrepreneurial aunties from Ōmaka marae in Blenheim and their delicious preserves are finalists in the New Zealand Artisan Awards.

By Meriana Johnsen

Meriana Johnsen sitting outside Mangamaunu marae in Kaikōura.

13th September, 2018

My te reo journey: journalist Meriana Johnsen

This is the te reo journey of one very colonised Māori, writes journalist Meriana Johnsen.

By Meriana Johnsen

Hayden Hohaia outside his home at Te Aro Pā. Image: supplied.

5th April, 2018

Finding a place to stand in a new landscape

With 84% of Māori now living in urban areas, away from ancestral lands, it has become difficult for many of us to maintain a sense of tūrangawaewae.

By Meriana Johnsen

The Guiding Star arrives in Wellington harbour as part of Kupe, the opening of the New Zealand Festival 2018.

26th February, 2018

Kupe: An indigenous spectacular

This weekend saw thousands converge on Wellington's watefront for Kupe, a tribute to Polynesian explorers Kupe and Kuramarotini’s discovery of Aotearoa and first landing of the waka Matahorua in the harbour. Meriana Johnsen reviews the show.

By Meriana Johnsen