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Te Ao Māori
Featured Te Ao Māori stories
Meet the rangatahi Māori breaking ground in both law and fashion
From a town of less than 4000 people, Siadin Ellis is carving out space for rangatahi Māori in places they are still rarely seen.
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'He lived fully. He loved deeply': Tributes for journalist and playwright Aroha Awarau
15 Jan 2026Awarau's debut play, Luncheon, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand and directed by Katie Wolfe, won Best Play at the 2014 New Zealand Script Writing Awards.
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Marlborough's only kaupapa Māori GP receives funding to address critical gap
15 Jan 2026Evidence shows it's early intervention model benefits both its patients and the wider healthcare system.
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'How do the people break through?' - third of Māori land considered landlocked
12 Jan 2026Landlocked whenua has been identified as one of the biggest challenges to public access in 2025.
Te Ao Māori headlines with summaries.
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Waka Ama pays tribute to one of its pillars at 2026 Nationals
13 Jan 2026Karaitiana Tamatea a longtime supporter of the Waka Ama Sprint Nationals at Lake Karapiro died on Saturday.
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Hundreds gather to remember the Battle of Ruapekapeka Pā
12 Jan 2026A flag-raising ceremony was held, waiata were sung and a service was led before the crowd descended the hill for a hāngī breakfast. Audio
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‘The only noise is ourselves’: Inside iwi's two-week Whanganui River journey
9 Jan 2026A Whanganui iwi leader says reserving stretches of the Whanganui River exclusively for the two-week tribal river journey has transformed the experience for participants.
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Popular Auckland hot springs gets name change
9 Jan 2026As 2025 ticked over into 2026, Parakai Springs became Kaipātiki Hot Springs, the traditional name for the area.
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Hawke's Bay Māori housing project wants to see the model rolled out nationwide
8 Jan 2026Puke Aute papakāinga south of Hastings has 10 new houses built on Māori ancestral land as well as vege gardens, lambs, chickens and pigs.
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The hidden river that shapes central Wellington
6 Jan 2026Most locals may not know the Kumutoto stream is flowing beneath their feet.
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Māori in New Year Honours - 'Wonderful work in maintaining and uplifting our identity'
2 Jan 2026Māori have been recognised for 2026, and include Companions, Officers, and Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
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Ngā Kaupapa Hirahira o te Tau: A look back at the year that was in Te Ao Māori
30 Dec 2025RNZ's Te Manu Korihi team look back at the kaupapa and the people that shook Te Ao Māori in 2025.
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Māori Land Court cannot rule on Porotī Springs water
25 Dec 2025A long-running effort by hapū trustees to have their customary rights to Porotī Springs legally recognised has hit another hurdle.
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Study shows experience of Māori grappling with 'te reo trauma'
21 Dec 2025The new report noted that this can manifest in various ways "including language anxiety and feelings of shame (whakamā) for not being able to speak te reo Māori.
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'Our sense of identity': What NZ and Georgia have in common
22 Dec 2025As an immigrant, the first time I saw haka being performed, I got goosebumps. It reminded me of the traditional dance of my own home, Georgia.
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Maipi-Clarke outranks her Te Pāti Māori elders in new leadership poll
19 Dec 2025The poll of Māori voters put Parliament's youngest MP at the top of the list for favoured leaders of Te Pāti Māori.
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'Devastating in all ways': Tokerau Beach sand dunes destroyed by vehicles
20 Dec 2025Thrill-seekers causing significant damage to dunes on the Far North beach have forced the installation of temporary fences and blockage of access points. Audio
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3000 hectares returned in one of country's longest land disputes
18 Dec 2025Māori landowners will have the land returned, and receive $420 million in compensation, in a landmark agreement with the Crown, ending questions going back to the 1830s. Audio
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New Zealand's only Māori visual arts degree celebrates 30 years of arts education
The indigenous-led programme Toioho ki Āpiti is based at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University.
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Marae adds period care to Christmas parcels as costs bite
Kōkiri Marae has gifted about two and half thousand boxes of period products across three years.
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Parliament bill set to return historic Māori site in Northland to Ngāpuhi
16 Dec 2025Kororipo Pā, at Kerikeri Basin, was the stage for some of the most formative events in the history of Aotearoa. Audio
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Lack of partnership in health sector changes - Iwi Partnership Boards
15 Dec 2025The regional Iwi Partnership Boards were set up in 2022 to ensure the voices of Māori are heard in healthcare decision-making.
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Ngāi Tahu set to take 33% stake in Milford Sound Tourism
The move would help protect Piopiotahi for future generations, with talks creating a strong foundation for the future, chief executive Haylee Preston says.
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Māori rock art one of 12 research areas to get funding boost
13 Dec 2025The Royal Society Te Apārangi announced the 12 recipients of its Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship for 2025 this week.
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Exhibition looks at decline in state of freshwater across Ngāi Tahu takiwā
13 Dec 2025The Unutai e! Unutai e! exhibition opens in Christchurch on Saturday and uses photographic works to highlight the realities being faced by waterways across the country.
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Māori smoking rates stall for first time in over a decade
11 Dec 2025The latest New Zealand Health Survey showed daily smoking among Māori adults 15 and over has increased slightly from 14.8 to 15 percent.
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24,000 sign petition to reinstate Te Tiriti obligations in schools
8 Dec 2025The National Iwi Chairs Forum delivered the petition to Minister of Education Erica Stanford
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Te Pāti Māori responds to Mariameno Kapa-Kingi's reinstatement
5 Dec 2025Co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the party remained committed to its tikanga and people. Audio
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