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Photo: Rawhitiroa Photography / Image design: Tina Tiller

Māori music is hitting the mainstream and it’s not by accident

Music legends are joining with talented newcomers to write new songs and help revitalise te reo in the process.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 28th December, 2022
Contributing writer
It’s not goodbye forever, it’s mā te wā from the Nē? team, L-R: Hemi Kelly (guest), Leonie Hayden, Meriana Johnson, Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes and Te Aihe Butler.

‘We need more of this’: Reflecting on an inspirational year of Nē?

The team behind Nē?, a podcast about being Māori in the modern world, pick their favourite episodes of the year.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 24th November, 2022
Contributing writer
Te Rawhitiroa Bosch

Te Rawhitiroa Bosch, the everywhere man

If it’s a Māori gathering of national significance, you’ll probably catch Te Rawhitiroa Bosch there, camera in hand, ready to shoot.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 23rd November, 2022
Contributing writer
 Auraki, a character created by Hōhepa Thompson. (Image: Tina Tiller)

Newsflash, mainstream media: te ao Māori is the mainstream

'Culturally aware' media companies are about to get their commitment tested by an innovative and unique character called Auraki.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 4th November, 2022
Contributing writer
Image: Supplied / Tina Tiller

A new generation of tamariki will sing ‘Waerea’ in place of ‘Let It Go’

The release of Disney's Frozen Reo Māori marks a world first for the Ngāi Tahu dialect.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 28th October, 2022
Contributing writer
The tūpuna and kārapuna laid on te atamira (the stage) at the repatriation ceremony at Te Papa earlier this month. (Photo: Te Papa)

Our stolen ancestors are finally returned from Vienna to Aotearoa to rest in peace

Nineteenth century taxidermist Andreas Reischek pretended to befriend Māori and then raided their graves at night.
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By Meriana Johnsen | 19th October, 2022
Guest writer
Photo: Rawhitiroa Photography / Image design: Tina Tiller

Māori music is hitting the mainstream and it’s not by accident

Musical legends are joining with talented newcomers to write new songs and help revitalise te reo in the process.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 7th October, 2022
Contributing writer
Marae reporter Leigh-Marama McLachlan

Leigh-Marama McLachlan on reclaiming te reo: ‘It’s my language of love’

'It's what I revert to in times of intense emotion – the English language truly does not cut it sometimes.'
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 23rd September, 2022
Contributing writer
2025 marks 50 years since the beginning of te wiki o te reo Māori (Image: Ministry of Culture and Heritage, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/maori-language-petition-1972)
Opinion

My wish for te reo Māori in the next 50 years

Looking back on 50 years since the first Māori Language Week, Te Kuru Dewes shares his hopes for the next half-century.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 16th September, 2022
Contributing writer
Sharing the power of haka-theatre with a new generation of teens

Sharing the power of haka-theatre with a new generation of teens

'When I started with these kids, some of them, their heads were down and I saw myself in them.'
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 12th September, 2022
Contributing writer
(Image: Getty/Tina Tiller/Xoë Hall)

The pou tokomanawa in the whare: Bringing te reo to life in the places we live

Reclaiming te reo Māori is always hard, but the hardest work – and the most important – takes place within the home.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 12th September, 2022
Contributing writer
Image: Tina Tiller
Opinion

EGGS and bones: Perhaps it’s time for a tikanga Māori month too

Asking two teenagers to recite Māori prayers over old skeletons is a lesson in why we need everyone to level-up on cultural awareness.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 9th September, 2022
Contributing writer
The new Cambridge Police Base (Photo: Tainui Group Holdings; Design by The Spinoff)

How an iwi-built station could symbolise a reset for police and Māori in Waikato

Tainui's decision to build a police station has raised some eyebrows, but the iwi are excited about what Cambridge Police Base represents.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 30th August, 2022
Contributing writer
Trevor Noah on The Daily Show

Trevor Noah agrees that New Zealand is an uncool name

'Colonisers were so lazy. ‘This is New Zealand, this is New England, this is New York.' Zero effort.'
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 16th August, 2022
Contributing writer
Tāmati Rimene-Sproat (Photo: Supplied)

Shedding some light – and sharing some laughs – on tikanga Māori

Cracking up viewers and teaching them something at the same time? It's all in a day's work for Tāmati Rimene-Sproat.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 15th July, 2022
Contributing writer
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (Photo: Supplied; additional design by Tina Tiller)

Empowering whānau through māra kai and the maramataka

Meet the Waikato wahine using mātauranga Māori to help whānau grow kai on their whenua.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 11th July, 2022
Contributing writer
Rereata Makiha (Image: Tina Tiller)

Should Aotearoa ditch the four seasons?

We'll never be truly in tune with the taiao when we use a system designed for the opposite side of the world.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 2nd July, 2022
Contributing writer
Hinerapa Rupuha (Photo: Supplied)

The new generation of celestial navigators learning from their ancestors

'You have to be in tune with the elements and the atua, to the sound of the waves hitting the waka and the direction of the wind on your cheek.'
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 24th June, 2022
Contributing writer
 Nikau Hindin making aute at Ngāi Tūpoto marae, Hokianga (Photo: Seb Charles)

Mapping the stars to reclaim time: Nikau Hindin and the art of aute

Nikau Hindin's detailed aute cloth star maps are part of an ongoing pursuit to see the world the way our ancestors did.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 21st June, 2022
Contributing writer
Rereata Makiha in an episode of Waka Huia (Image: Supplied)

Matariki will soon be on the horizon, but will you be able to see it?

Different iwi have different ways of acknowledging the Māori new year depending on when certain stars are visible to them in the night sky.
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By Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes | 6th June, 2022
Contributing writer

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The Spinoff is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must be first directed in writing, within one month of publication, to info@thespinoff.co.nz. If not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the online complaint form at www.presscouncil.org.nz along with a link to the relevant story and all correspondence with the publication.

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