Nuku

Most of us know NUKU //063 through her extensive career on our screens and airwaves. Stacey Morrison (Ngāi Tahu, Te Arawa) is a māmā, writer, facilitator and tutor. She is a veteran broadcaster, television host and consultant. She is also a passionate champion of te reo Māori and is an ambassador for the breast cancer foundation. While Stacey has raised her three babies with te reo Māori as their first language, she herself did not learn adulthood. It was in fact, her third language. In this episode we hear personal stories of her upbringing and losing her māmā to breast cancer at a young age. We talk about language and the ways we can incorporate te reo into our everyday lives and, we talk about the realities of being an indigenous woman today and honouring our puku.

Tania Pouwhare (Ngāi Tūhoe) is a manager in local government for Community and Social Innovation, testing radical challenges and opportunities that enhance the mana of our people, particularly those that have been left behind by the economy. Her mahi spans both grassroots and systems levels, directly affecting those farthest from resources, power and influence. In this episode we talk about her time in the UK and her formative years working for women’s rights organisations. The self-professed feminist shares her views on sexual and reproductive health rights for wāhine and, Tania talks unapologetically about New Zealand’s class system and the paradox facing the Māori economy.

Darna Appleyard (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Te Whakatōhea, Scottish) spent much of her childhood in Tasmania. It was there across the ditch she learnt first hand about some of the hardest things she’d have to face in her life, from racism and inequality, to family suicide. This self-described ‘equity challenger’ works to disrupt the distribution and programming of health resources to achieve health equity for Māori. In this episode we talk about her childhood and the time whaea Eva Rickard knocked on their front door, Darna shares her passion for Māori health outcomes and the innovative solutions they need to be achieved and, she talks openly about losing a father and brother to suicide. As per all NUKU kōrero, we do not shy away from the hard topics in this episode, so please be kind to yourself when you listen, and take breaks where you need.

Kura Paul-Burke (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Whakahemo) is a Māori marine ecologist, scientific diver and trans-disciplinary researcher with extensive pragmatic knowledge combining mātauranga Māori and Western science to assist co-developed kaitiakitanga. As well as  her role as an associate professor for Mātai Moana with the University of Waikato she works with rangatahi to teach freediving and has spent much time dedicated to the restoration of mussel beds in Ōhiwa harbour. In this episode we talk about the importance of our moana environments. We discuss the benefits of combining matauranga Maori with Western science and, we learn that although Kura spends much of her time underwater, this wahine is not the greatest swimmer.

Julie Paama-Pengelly (Ngaiterangi - Te moutere o Matakana) describes herself as a practitioner of political identity activism through the teachings and practice of mahi toi, predominantly Tā moko.  Living and working in te rohe o Tauranga Moana, her studio is a space that nurtures a diverse group of creatives. Julie was one of the first wahine kai tā of modern times, working, sharing, learning, and leading in a very male-dominated space.  In this episode we talk about her journey with tā moko, the power and resurgence of our traditional marks and we discuss pūhoro, for wāhine.

Maata Wharehoka (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Kuia) started her working life as a nurse. Her mahi in health saw her write the first stop smoking programme for Māori women and, she led wāhine in cervical screening programmes on marae.   She later found her niche in marae at Parihaka Pā and championed marae arts, raranga and karanga. In 2015 she won the Creative New Zealand Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka award recognising her lifetime contribution to the arts. Maata’s many passions have been combined in her mahi around death, as she champions Kahu Whakatere Tupapaku, the tīkanga Māori practices surrounding death and burial.   In this episode she tells us about her life’s journey, what it was like to grow up with a strict mid-victorian minded aunty. She shares experiences of birth and death in her whānau, and she tells us why she advocates for euthanasia and how we all need to be prepared to die.

Tuhi-Ao Bailey (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki) is a kaitiaki dedicated to our Taiao. The Parihaka pā trustee supports hapū, marae and Māori landowners with water, fish and flora monitoring, as well as riparian planting and pest control. She is a passionate climate change champion and gardener who has helped set up maara and tree nurseries with a number of roopu, while also incorporating Indigenous planting practices into her own backyard. She is known to many by her Pākehā ingoa, Emily. However in recent years she has actively sought to Indigenise her world even more, nurturing her reo Māori, receiving her moko kauae, and leading with her ingoa taketake. In this episode we talk about her mahi as an iwi representative and her many years of advocacy, activism and action. We discuss the importance of whenua, growing kai and the effects of climate change. Tuhi Ao also shares an intimate insight into what it was like to be abruptly thrown into the public eye on October 15, 2007, and how Taranaki has helped he

Veranoa Hetet (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Ātiawa) is a master weaver and one of our country’s most celebrated contemporary artists. Although, the humble wahine from Waiwhetū cringes when you describe her as that. Veranoa is an uri of renowned weavers and teachers, her grandmother, the late Dame Rangimarie Hetet and her mother, the late Erenora Puketapu-Hetet. As well as her aunty, the late Diggeress Te Kanawa. She says being surrounded by art, and having parents as masters of their art, meant her journey was pretty straight forward. Today, her work is national museum collections, it adorns the walls of galleries, she has kākahu that are awarded for excellence, like the New Zealander of the Year award, and most importantly, her work is worn and carried by her tamariki and mokopuna. Veranoa also helps whānau around the world to reclaim Māori art traditions through the Hetet School of Maori Art, an online kura where she teaches raranga, tāniko and kākahu, including korowai. In this episode we talk abo

Laura O’Connell Rapira (Te Ātiawa, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whakaue) is a community organiser, campaigner and writer. She started her career organising events, before moving on to charity fundraising. However, she got pulled into a different direction when she started RockEnrol, a youth-powered campaign to get more young people out to vote. In 2014 she joined ActionStation and became their director. Since then, she has worked with communities nationwide around steps towards economic fairness, climate protection, human rights, global peace and honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In this episode we laugh about the irony of being full-time paid activist, we discuss some of her recent highlights, like the move to make Matariki a public holiday, and, we talk about her next chapter with the Foundation for Young Australians.

Awatea Mita (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Porou) is a justice advocate speaking out for equitable outcomes in the criminal justice system. She is also a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights. Her current advocacy projects are around repealing the Bail Amendment Act 2013 and increasing the use of restorative practice alternatives to harm. Much of this drive came as a result of her own 22 month incarceration in 2015 and seeing first hand the vulnerability and strength of our wāhine Māori under punitive state control. She wants to help create a system that restores balance while keeping the mana and dignity of whānau intact. In this episode we talk about her childhood and the integral part her whānau played in sharing the stories of resistance in Aotearoa. We discuss her experience in the prison system and how the death of her son, while she was incarcerated, changed her forever. Awatea also shares her current journey and the possibility of one day, lending her voice to represent our people in our highest office.

Maia Mariner (Ngai Tai, Samoa) is the founder of Lazy Sneakers, a not-for-profit organisation that collects and redistributes reusable sneakers for free. Maia is 15. She came up with this idea at 12 and has enabled tamariki to participate in sports and other activities, right across Pōneke and around the country, with a simple pair of shoes. From size 18-plus basketball kicks, to a styley pair of chucks, this kōhine is changing lives. In this episode Maia gives us an insight into what it’s like being a young Indigneous woman in Aotearoa today. She shares with us the highlights of her mahi helping young and old and opens our eyes to the realities of running a charity, while still being in high school. And, (thanks to some encouragement from her whāngai NUKU aunties) she tells you how you can help her achieve her dreams.

Tiffany Witehira (Ngāpuhi) is reputedly the only Māori fragrance developer in the world. She runs the only Māori owned and operated perfumery in the world, Curionoir. From making fragrances, to collaborating with like-minded artisans, she loves to curate experiences that tie in all our senses. From her hand-blown glass bottles, to the hand poured perfumes that evoke an array of memories, every element of her business and being is thoughtful and personal. In this episode we talk about her journey, the challenges of growing up in a predominantly Pākeha upper class world after leaving her papakāinga-based childhood, and, she shares with me her unreleased native plant fragrance collection while I try my best to sound fancy while describing the smell and memories it evokes. We definitely tried some new things with this podcast.

Dr Kelly Tikao (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu) is a Māori researcher, Nurse, māmā, and self-described dabbler in the creative fields. Based in Ōtautahi, she became interested in customary birthing practices following her cousin’s experience with home birth. She began implementing some of those practices into her own birth experiences with her children, and progressed into a Masters and then PhD on the kaupapa. In this episode we talk about hapūtanga, birthing, story and liberation.

Today we celebrate the halfway mark of the NUKU 100 with a very special NUKU //050. Linda Aumua (Fijian) is a passionate advocate for educational equity for Pacific people’s in Aotearoa. She is also the māmā of our videographer, Taylor. Linda has worked in community development and as a teacher, director and senior policy analyst, transforming lives through access and success in education from preschool to tertiary both here and in Fiji. In this episode we talk about the power of education, Linda’s experiences working across the Pacific, Indigenous female leadership and, we talk about motherhood, from the lessons her own mother taught her, to the ones she is imparting on her own children.

Hana Tuwhare (Ngāpuhi) is a community activator and speech language therapist. She works alongside whānau, kaiako, iwi, early education centres and organisations to help create rich oral language environments for our pēpi in the first 1000 days. She recognises the links between language, culture and identity, putting a focus on mātauranga Māori through her mahi to support young tamariki to thrive as thinkers, learners and readers who, are also grounded in who they are. In this episode we talk about the importance of talk and oral language for our babies, we get tips for teaching and learning at home and Hana shares with us her experience touring with a big top travelling circus.

Ema Tavola (Dravuni - Fiji, Pākehā) is an artist-curator which she says mostly involved her being an arts manager, advocate and hype woman of Moana Oceania arts and culture. She is the Director of Vunilagi Vou, an independent exhibitions gallery and consultancy in South Auckland. She is also a māmā to her daughter, Lanuola. Born in Fiji and raised in the UK and Europe as an ambassador’s daughter, she has lived through a civilian coup back in her homeland before finding a second kāinga and settling in Aotearoa as a teen. In this episode we talk about Moana Oceania arts and its importance to Aotearoa, we discuss her career and how her role as a mother has shaped her and her values in this creative space and, Ema speaks openly about miscarriage and baby loss, reminding wāhine with similar experiences, that we are not alone.

Lizzie Dunn (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Arawa) is on a mission to help people learn Indigenous languages through technology. The founder of Lingogo is doing so through her passion for storytelling, creating dual-language e-books. Having a background in publishing and, working with NZ Film Commission, Lizzie used her experience to create the digital start-up in a new industry. The business hustle isn't always easy, but when you are driven by kaupapa, it is always worth it. In this episode we talk about the power of language, the pursuit of success and, how the lived experience of Lizzie’s grandparents, particularly her grandfather facing racism, her grandmother escaping Hitler, have shaped her and the change she wants to make in this world.

NUKU //045 Rebecca Davis (No Ngāti Hei, Ngāti Porou ki Harataunga, Ngāti Tamatera Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) is a change agent, and NUKU //046 Stevie Davis–Tana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Porou, Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa) is a powerful spoken word poet and youth worker. The mother-daughter duo are creating impactful change right across Aotearoa. Through Rebecca’s impact strategy mahi transforming communities and organisations, to Stevie’s creative ventures empowering our rangatahi, the pair are a force who want to see our people thrive. In this episode we talk about single-parent experiences from the different perspectives of mother and daughter, we discuss the importance of system change and Indigenous systems return and Stevie shares her tips on how to write poetry and performs one of her compelling pieces about moko kauae.

Maruhaeremuri Nihoniho (Ngāi Tahu, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou) spent much of her childhood beating high scores on the spacies machines at her local fish and chip shop. That childhood pass time turned into a passion, as Maru became the founding CEO Metia Interactive, developing and producing games for multiple platforms. She uses games to tell Indigenous stories, and her passion project Guardian Maia, is an action-adventure game that explores te ao Māori with a wahine toa, lead character. In this episode we talk about being an Indigenous woman in a male-dominated industry, she shares her transition from a career in hospitality to tech, tells us the realities of pitching for million dollar projects and, shares some memories of favourite old-school game, ghost and goblins.

We travelled to Te Tauihu to meet NUKU 43 Kerensa Johnston (Ngāti Tama, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Whawhakia). She is the CEO of Wakatū Incorporation, which has about 4,000 owners who descend from whānau and hapū of Whakatū, Motueka and Mōhua rohe. Kerensa has worked as as a solicitor in the private sector, a Barrister and, as a legal academic where she specialised in Māori legal development, public law, land law and international law. She was part of the Nelson Tenths Reserves and Occupation Reserves case against the NZ Government, which was won in the Supreme Court. Today, her role has a focus on leading her whānau through the sustainable use of their land and resources, including a focus in areas of food sovereignty, innovation, and Indigenous science. In this episode we talk about that supreme court case and the legacy of Wakatū, about harnessing the strengths of different iwi and hapū, and her mahi with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Māori Centre of Research Excellence.