The good, the bad, and the ugly - what’s happening out there?!
+ more Māori news, events, media, and kōrero to keep your cultural kete full.
The sponsor with the 500 year plan… Big thanks to Tohu Wines for backing this issue of Te Arawhata.
Tohu is the world’s first Māori-owned wine company. Our wines are crafted with aroha as a gift from our land. Browse our collection here.
🌖 Maramataka/Māori lunar calendar phase: Oike - don’t plant kai today.
We use the Maramataka Māori page to keep up - every region varies.
🗣️ Phrase of the wiki: Kei hea mai/That’s outstanding
Sourced from manawamāori.
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10 Oct, 2025
Ata mārie e te whānau,
Nau mai, hoki mai ki Te Arawhata, the newsletter making it easier for us all to stay connected with—and just ruddy enjoy—te ao Māori ia wiki, ia wiki.
Lined up for you this week;
talk of the tāone catch-ups feat. the beehive and a barbie
kaupapa Māori events we’d hand on ngākau/heart love to attend
kete filling media recs for kids and adults (and kid-adults)
a wāhine only deal o te wiki
Then in kōrero, we’re taking a look at the state of things out there—good, bad, and ugly. Is our take controversial? Kōrero mai/You tell me.
🗞️ news to keep us in the know
It was a big day in the beehiive; Oriini Kaipara is in, Māori Party change tack, and a bill making it harder for Māori to claim foreshore and seabed rights is a step closer to law.
These rad Māori rings and their impending final release.
Huia just dropped a new pukapuka/book to help anyone become an expert on The Waitangi Tribunal (all fifty years of it).
Forget Labubu and Stacey, La Hoa Tiki and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe are the new dolls in town.
Auē, it’s looking like Te Karere might be axed.
This self-proclaimed ‘recovering racist’ is urging people to vote for Māori wards (quick!).
🤗 events cos nothing beats time kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face
TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA/WELLINGTON:
The Epic Life of Kahe Te Rau-o-te-Rangi as told by Miria Pōmare
26 Oct I Te Waka Huia Wellington Museum I @wellingtonmuseum
Come and hear the life story of the great Rangatira Kahe, one of five women who signed Te Tiriti in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, as part of Wellington Heritage Festival.
TAURANGA:
Tangihanga theatre show
24 Oct I Baycourt Community and Arts Centre I @taurangafestival
Kristyl Neho masterfully embodies over 30 characters in this ‘tour de force’ drama-comedy, diving deep into the cultural landscape of tangihanga.
TE WAIHARAKEKE/BLENHEIM:
Te Pātaka o Wairau Māori Night Market
21 Nov I Seymour Square I @tepātakaowairau
An evening for people of all ages and cultures to enjoy all things Māori with local manawhenua; Ngāti Rarua, Rangitāne o Wairau, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
TĀMAKI MAKAURAU/AUCKLAND:
Guided Rōngoa Māori Walk
8 Nov I Cornwall Park I @cornwallparknz
Get a peek into the world of rongoā Māori through the native rākau/trees of Cornwall Park with practitioner Emma Haslam (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Hauā).
*Got an event you’d like to feature here or in the calendar next week? Reply to this email with a link and we’ll give you options!
💓 media recs for a deeper dive now or later
For the kids:
Avatar: The Last Airbender
reo Māori tv series
It’s MEANT for kids but I don’t have any in te ao marama/the world of light yet and this is my Sunday. If you secretly like fantasy-anime shows too, this is a great way to practise your reo!
Free I 20min eps I Reo Māori
For the adults:
‘Isn’t How I Remember’
waiata by Troy Kingi (ft SWIDT)
It’s MEANT for kids but I don’t have any in te ao marama/the world of light yet and this is my Sunday. If you secretly like fantasy-anime shows too, this is a great way to practise your reo!
Free I 20min eps I Reo Māoria
While we’re talking about kete filling…
Wahine Māori owned, Salt Aotearoa, are offering Te Whānau o Te Arawhata members a whopping 15% off their November freediving camp.
🌟 BONUS DISCOUNT: Tohu Wines are still also offering Te Whānau o Te Arawhata members 20% off all items except special offers until 31 October! 🌟
*Te Whānau o Te Arawhata members will get their exclusive discount code in an email shortly. Join the club from just $1.50/week to get in on this deal and a new one every week!
🗣️ notes from our connection journey to fuel yours
The good, the bad, and the ugly - what’s happening out there?!
Opinion piece: If you’ve been keeping up with ‘talk of the tāone’, you’ll have noticed some kerfuffle out there in the Māoriverse lately. It came to a bit of a head with Toitū te Tiriti distancing themselves from Te Pāti Māori i tērā wiki/last week, but I reckon that’s just one example of something that’s been building for a while.
Whether in politics, business, social services, or your local kura, it feels like there are more opinions out there than ever about the right way for Māori, Tangata Tiriti, and Aotearoa to move forward.
After what’s felt like an exciting and uber-unified few years, where even in the face of challenge, ngā hua mīharo/the awesome fruits of reo and cultural revitalisation investment have been showing—recent public debate has some worried we’re going backwards. That’s the ‘bad’ take.
There’s been a wee bit of ‘ugly’ in there too; ‘scribble-face’ taunts, people letting our egos and emotions take arguments further than we should have—ya know, human things.
Here’s the good part fam, at least in my opinion; conflict is a healthy and super necessary part of impactful progress, and a reminder that we don’t all think the same thing.
That can be uncomfortable for some of us to accept when we’re on our own search for cultural belonging. If we’re not careful, we can be more susceptible to singular narratives, more worried about ‘rocking the waka’ nā te mea/because (deep down) we’re a smidge blinded by a hiahia/desire to be accepted ourselves. It’s hard to admit but looking back, I can see I’ve done this in the past. Social media bubbles don’t help!
To me, the fact that there’s some argument and confusion out there is a tohu/sign of a cultural movement maturing. We’re feeling stronger in our identities fam, and as a result, we’re more prepared to engage in critical thinking, which—when ego and emotion are kept in check—always leads to better decisions, nē?
I don’t think we should get too stressed when Māori leaders wānanga, it’s how we’ve always worked things out. Informed progress involves debate and even a few wrong turns and back-tracks. As long as the end goal stays tūturu/true to Māori values—whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, kotahitanga, kaitiakitanga, liking fry bread… you know the deal, we won’t get lost. It’s all part of finding the way.
Is my opinion controversial? Am I huka/sugar-coating here? Reply and let’s wānanga it out!
You know how stoked we are that you made it all the way to here? 110%. We LOVE writing for you, thanks for sticking with us fam.
We got so many great whakaaro/ideas for future kaupapa last week, thanks for sending them in! Ā tērā wiki/Next week we’re talking tikanga v reo. Bring your opinions!