Culture wars or mission creep? Free Speech Union goes after NZ regulators
The Free Speech Union is worried people are being told what to think and say, and has zeroed…
Government moves to strip Māori land court oversight of Treaty settlement trusts
After a supreme court ruling expanded scrutiny, ministers are moving to shut it down – raising fears over…
Why the word ‘tribe’ makes some Māori uneasy
It might sound harmless, but for many indigenous people the term ‘tribe’ carries a colonial history of hierarchy…
‘I can polish poo – but I can’t polish diarrhoea’: Māori blast RMA overhaul
Iwi leaders, environmental experts and legal scholars warn the government’s new planning laws could weaken Treaty settlements and…
The Māori seats explained: Why they exist and why they’re under threat
The Greens want to entrench them, NZ First wants to scrap them. Here’s how the Māori electorates work…
The iwi-run savings scheme giving Ngāi Tahu kids a kick-start
In 2006, Ngāi Tahu used part of its landmark treaty settlement to launch Whai Rawa, a reciprocal wealth-building…
The tension at Waitangi showed the Crown isn’t always at the centre
This year’s tensions on the ātea weren’t just political theatre. They revealed tikanga is no longer reacting to…
From Aroha to Vyra: The brand that sparked a debate on cultural appropriation
After facing backlash over its use of a Māori word, Australian activewear brand Aroha Collective has rebranded as…
The rope line at Waitangi – and what it taught me about power
Ātea editor Liam Rātana ponders exclusion, access, and the uncomfortable reality of flashing a media pass and being…
Waiata of Waitangi: What parliamentarians sang
Tūtira mai ngā iwi: it’s time we put the waiata of Waitangi eve under a lens. What’s in…
To show or no? A short history of prime ministers at Waitangi in election year
Luxon will be there tomorrow, but how often have his predecessors taken part? The political centrepiece of the…
Did Māori cede sovereignty? The historical answer is clearer than politics allows
The treaty debate has become a battlefield of ideology. The historical record tells a more disciplined – and…