Ātea Otago

Finding whakapapa: The generational trauma of closed Māori adoptions
Dr Erica Newman has been awarded $300,000 to study the generational effects of closed adoptions of Māori children to Pākehā families.
Dr Erica Newman has been awarded $300,000 to study the generational effects of closed adoptions of Māori children to Pākehā families.
Three newly appointed Māori professors at the University of Otago talk about why putting te ao Māori at the centre of their work is so important.
The birds of Polynesian legend are part of birth, death, and everything in between. Now, a PhD thesis from the University of Otago undertakes the first ever in-depth exploration into the manu of mythology.
It's a way of living that is often mistaken for either a 'hippy commune' or a boarding house, but cohousing is slowly becoming a viable solution to New Zealand's growing housing needs. It's also a way of fighting the isolation and loneliness that is harming our collective wellbeing.
Te Huka Mātauraka, the University of Otago Māori Centre, celebrates its 30th birthday this year as a crucial part of life for the university's Māori students.
Hōkai Rangi is a recently-released strategy aiming to drastically lower the ratio of Māori in prison in New Zealand, using Māori strategy to do so.
A team of University of Otago researchers and weavers will unlock the secrets of one of te ao Māori’s most precious taonga for the first time in more than 200 years.
When the University of Otago was founded 150 years ago the interests of local Māori were disregarded. But in the last 50 years, engagement with tangata whenua has become an essential part of the university's identity.
Four Mayan academics visited New Zealand to share their experiences of colonisation and spoke to The Spinoff about what indigenous people can learn from their shared experiences.
Six days after the terror attack in Christchurch, the University of Otago launched its participation in the Give Nothing to Racism campaign. At the launch, Tuari Potiki spoke of the history of racism he, his whānau and marae have faced.
The current New Zealand innovator of the year is on a mission to sear the real story of New Zealand’s discovery into the minds of a generation of New Zealanders.
Jack Tapsell is the product of a family dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Māori. The most recent University of Otago medical graduate talks to Leonie Hayden about carrying on the legacy of his father and grandfather.
In her ceremonial inaugural lecture to mark her appointment as a professor, University of Otago Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett (Ngāti Whātua) examined the concepts of "identity in place".
In the age of advanced genetics, whakapapa is a powerful tool against hereditary illness. Don Rowe talks to Dr Karyn Paringatai, the stomach-less doctor reconnecting whanau to save lives.
It was a different direction for the trained physiotherapist, but Ricky Bell pursued groundbreaking research into holistic approaches to obesity in Māori because that's what his community needed.
Ngāi Tahu spent 150 years in poverty, dispossessed of the vast majority of their whenua and mahinga kai. Today, 20 years on from their landmark settlement with the Crown, they're sitting atop a billion dollar pūtea.
From an erratic flailing of limbs to the psychological powerhouse we know today, little is known about how haka developed into a steadfast tradition in New Zealand sport.