In this episode we catch up with Tiffany Witehira and Aroha Harris. We talk about the challenges of language learning, the realities of juggling kura with parenting and mahi, we celebrate the achievements and talk about what lies ahead.

In this episode we catch up with Chelsea Winstanley and Leonie Kapea Hayden to discuss our rūmaki reo journey, safe reo speaking places, anxiety about leaving an immersive environment, expectation Vs reality, and our diverse experiences throughout the year.

In episode two we speak to filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley and Journalist Leonie Hayden about language learning feeling like we're all in kohanga reo, and how that realisation creates safe to fail spaces in the language reclamation journey. We discuss the good and bad of te reo Māori in the film and media industries and chat about the responsibility o…

We speak with Māori Midwife Camille Harris and fragrance developer Tiffany Witehira who are both at the beginning of their year-long total immersion Māori language course. The pair share the stories behind their desire to reclaim te reo, share their lived experiences of language being looked down upon as a result of colonisation and, give us an ins…

Kia ora e te whānau. Today is a very special day, we celebrate NUKU //100! Through this series we have met and interviewed wāhine right across the motu - the matauranga holders, the frontliners, the carers, the whale whisperers, the teachers, the researchers, the ahi kaa, the boundary pushers, the leaders, the workers, the innovators, the motivator…

Meet NUKU //099 Dr Acushla Dee Sciascia (Ngāruahine Rangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Ātiawa) This incredible wahine is a business woman representing Indigenous perspectives and narratives in research, evaluation and strategy development. Her studies found her researching digital tangihanga long before Covid-19 had arrived, exploring how tikanga in te ao Māo…

Kurahapainga (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) is the founder and artistic director of Hawaiki TŪ, a Māori performance company specialising in kapa haka and haka theatre. She is also a member of the renowned Te Waka Huia kapa haka roopu. In this episode NUKU //098 talks to us about the found…

Te Raina (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Italy) runs education programmes about Māori culture from her whare wānanga, Kurawaka. Based in Pōrangahau, she teaches wāhine to find their karanga voice, teaching the foundations of karanga and the mātauranga of mana wāhine, mana atua and mana motuhake. In this episode we kōrero abo…

We have a special double episode for you. NUKU 095 and 096 are Geneva Harrison (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) and Mihi Tibble (Ngāti Mākino, Ngāti Whakahemo, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Whānau a Hinerupe, Rakairoa, Te Whānau a Karuwai, Te Aitanga a Mate). The friends are the founders of Tuhi Stationery. They create notebook…

Dame Hinewehi Mohi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe) has been iconic in the development of puoro Māori for the past 30 years. In 1999, she released her Oceania album and made history singing the national anthem in te reo Māori. Today, she is championing a bilingual music industry for Aotearoa. In this episode we talk about her passion for te reo Māori,…

Yvonne (Ngāpuhi) is a mentor and trustee with Auckland Teaching Gardens Trust. She supports the community with garden plots, gardening courses and supplying kai to food banks. We recorded this interview in her garden in Māngere, surrounded by manu and the local community tending to their plots. In this episode she talks to us about her upbringing a…

Xiuh, as she likes to go by is of Mexican heritage (Mestiza, Nahua (Mexico)). For years she has worked to revitalise ancient Indigenous practices. Here in Aotearoa she shares temazcal, kinam and tezcatlipoca practices of old central Mexico. She is also a wisdom keeper of ancient Toltec traditions. ⁠In this episode Xiuh talks to us about the colonis…

Matariki, as she prefers to go by (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe) is the Co-Lead for RIVER (Revitalising Indigenous Values for Earth’s Regeneration) and Co-Manager for the New Zealand Alternative. She is also Project Manager for Te Kaunoti Hikahika (or E Hika!), a constitutional reformation project rolling out across Aotearoa. Based in Tāneatua this phenom…

Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Toa) is the CEO of What Ever It Takes, an organisation using Māori models of clinical practice for whānau affected by complex disability and trauma, as a result of an acquired serious injury. She came into this mahi through her own experience in findin…

NUKU 089 is Irihapeti Edwards (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara, Te Arawa). This incredible young woman works across financial services and global youth leadership. Among a number of accolades, she has been a Prime Minister’s Scholar and UN Youth New Zealand delegate. In this episode she talks about financial…

Tania Page (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāi Tahu) is a journalist currently working with TVNZ’s flagship current affairs show, Sunday. Earlier in her career, she was on the team that launched the 24 hour news channel Al Jazeera English. In this episode she shares her career journey, working in news media around the world, and talks to us about some of the heart-w…

NUKU 087 is Puawai Cairns of Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga whakapapa. Puawai has held a number of roles across her time at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, including as curator. She is currently Te Papa’s Director of Audience and Insight. In this episode she talks to us about the power of museums and the importance of tell…

Julia Arnott-Neenee (Sāmoan, Chinese, British) is the co-founder and director of PeopleForPeople, a youth-led social enterprise on a mission for digital equity. She’s also a strategy and insights specialist with a personal goal to change the statistics around the lack of diversity in the information and communications technology sector. In this epi…

Alex Rogers shares his kōrero about the politics of protecting and restoring the Hauraki Gulf, the successes and frustrations of the Hauraki Gulf Forum model, and how an upgraded Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act could lead to a healthier future for Tīkapa Moana, Te Moananui-ā-Toi.

Mook Hohneck (Ngāti Manuhiri) and Nicola MacDonald (Ngāti Rehua, Ngāti Wai, Te Rarawa and Taranaki iwi) share their kōrero about Te Hauturu-ō-Toi, how our current laws are enabling continued destruction of te taiao, and the importance of Māori leadership in ensuring regeneration and restoration of our natural world.…

NUKU 085 is Mary Brown (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whātua). Mary is a full-time, stay-at-home māmā of 10 tamariki, all under 15 years old. She is also a champion for financial literacy. In this episode we talk about motherhood and the stereotypes that come with raising a large family. Mary shares her whakaaro on raising the leaders of tomorrow and she tells…

Billy Brown (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki) shares his kōrero about Ngā Pona Toru ō Peretū (Rangitoto) and the story behind that and other ingoa known to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, their recent win against the Crown in the Supreme Court, and how to move from a long phase of taking from te taiao to one of restoration and deepening connections leading to a better futu…

We’ve got a double episode for your today with Melony Paikea-Tautalanoa (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) and Manawawharepu Udy (Te Arawa, Mātaatua, Tainui) Mel and Manawa are the founders of Ngahere Communities, a social enterprise championing the potential of South Auckland entrepreneurs, innovators and creators through collaborative spaces…

NUKU 082 is Phylesha Brown-Acton (Fineone Hakupu, Atua (Niue) Phylesha serves Pasifika Rainbow, LGBTQIA+, MVPFAFF+ peoples and their families. She is the Executive Director of F’INE Pasifika Aotearoa, co-founded with Mama Tere Tahere-Strickland. F’INE is part of the Pasifika Whānau Ora Collective and Phylesha’s primary role is to challenge rhetoric…

Deirdre Nehua (Ngātiwai / Ngāti Hao) has spent most of her life working for positive change for ngāi Māori, challenging the racism and inequities thrust upon our communities as a result of colonisation. She is also a writer and poet. From her involvement in the Maori Land March and land occupations of the 70s, 80s and 90s, to working in prisons, re…

Dr Jenny Lee-Morgan (Waikato, Ngāti Mahuta, Te Ahiwaru, Chinese) is a teacher, author, researcher, māmā and grandmother with Chinese-Māori whakapapa. Jenny has worked as a secondary school teacher and in the community, tertiary and business sectors. Today, she is a professor of Māori research and the director of Ngā Wai a te Tūī, Māori and Indigeno…

Renata Watene (Ngā Puhi, Tainui) is an optometrist, and one of very few Māori in the industry. As the director of her own optometry practice that now boasts two locations in Tāmaki Makaurau, and a member of the Waitematā District Health board, she is passionate about improving health equity for Māori, particularly when it comes to eye health. In th…

NUKU 078 is Ramari Stewart (Ngāti Awa). She is a renowned tohunga tohorā, based in the small village of Ōkārito in Te Waipounamu. She has had a life-long affinity with whales, having learned mātauranga from an early age with her parents and wider whānau. From observing and learning about live whales, to leading the recovery of stranded whales, she …

Phillis Meti (Arorangi, Rarotonga) is a golf professional and a 3-time World Long Drive champion. In 2006 she became the first New Zealander, and youngest ever, to win the World Long Drive championship. She’s since been smashing records at competition level for more than 10 years. With a career full of accolades, Phillis is passionate about bringin…

Dr Karlo Mila (Kolofo'ou, Ofu (Tonga), Savai'i (Sāmoa), Pālangj, ancient connections to Savai'i and Pago Pago (Sāmoa)) is a renowned poet. She is also the programme director, founder and creator of the Mana Moana leadership programme.Her work explores knowledge, language, and core concepts indigenous to the Moana.In this episode she shares about he…

NUKU //075 is Awhitia Mihaere (Ngāti Kahungunu). She is a healer, a traditional birther, a tohunga ruahine, and a teacher of rongoā Māori. Awhitia was born on the floor of her whānau home in Tokoroa, guided into te ao Mārama by her grandmother. It was this nanny that nurtured Awhitia’s wairua from that day on. In this episode we talk about her jour…

Lusi Faiva (Patamea, Savai’i Samoa) is an award-winning stage performer and dancer, who has been practicing for the last 25 years. Her heritage connects her to Patamea, Savaii Samoa. Her performance is mainly in the contemporary genre and contact improvisation, but she also loves to interweave her Samoan culture through siva. Lusi was born with cer…

Heather Te Au-Skipworth (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu, Ngati Ruanui, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is the creator, visionary and CEO of IronMāori. She started the multi-sport event in 2009 with only 300 people. Today, it boasts events right across Aotearoa with numbers reaching 6000 participants per venue. IronMāori has also become the biggest c…

Pagan Karauria (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) started woolhandling when she was just 15. Today, she has not only made a career of it, she is also an international champion, winning competitions in Aotearoa, Australia, the UK and Europe. Two summers ago she also ticked off a shearing goal with 402 sheep shorn in 8 hours. She has won acc…

Bobby Newson (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Te Tao Maui) shares his kōrero about the pressures facing the Hauraki Gulf, collaboration between Tāmaki Paenga Hira and the Noises islands, and the importance of listening to our rangatahi and our moana - "the moana has a lot of messages we are missing".

Dr Ani Alana Kainamu (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Kōtirana - Glaswegian) is an environmental researcher within Te Kūwaha, the National Centre of Māori environmental research at the National institute of Water and Atmospheric research. She is also a māmā of two kōtiro. This amazing wahine completed a double degree in Zoology and Māori studies …

When I first read an online bio for Dr Erica Newman it stated her whakapapa as Māori, and then in brackets, ‘iwi unknown’. It has to be one of the most powerful, yet painful, identifiers I have ever read. The lecturer in Te Tumu: School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous studies at the University of Otago, recently received a Marsden Fast Start resea…

Liane Ngamane (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Pāoa) shares her kōrero about the state of Tīkapa Moana, the rāhui laid down by Ngāti Tamaterā around Te Mata and Tapu on the western shores of the Coromandel, and her aspirations for a healthier, more abundant Hauraki Gulf for future generations.…

Georgia Latu (Kai Tahu, Ngāpuhi) is the 14-year old C.E.O behind Pōtiki Poi. A pakihi that makes, sells and distributes poi and earrings, while sharing mātauranga Māori. Her business has environmental and social values at its heart, using op shop and second hand materials, with biodegrading plastic, and employing people with diverse abilities from …

Te Ao Kapa (Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Wai, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Porou) started with Te Kaha O Te Rangatahi Indigenous Youth Hub at age 18, filing paperwork and helping in the office. Today, 12 years later, she has just been made the organisation’s CEO. Her mahi is to support rangatahi navigate their way to becoming their own champions of positive cha…

Kyla Campbell-Kamariera (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Taranaki Tūturu) is the Waikato Students' Union President and a member of the University Council. Currently completing her masters degree, focusing on Indigenous leadership, she has a passion for politics, history and wāhinetanga. Her journey has at many times been very straight forward, with her lo…

Rosie Nathan (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) and Kim Collins share their kōrero about Foundation North’s transformational Gulf Innovation Fund Together (GIFT), from taking a conscious decision to break some of the usual rules of philanthropy, to putting the restoration of mauri at the heart of the fund’s purpose, and being rewarded for taking …

Dr Ngahuia Murphy (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Ruapani ki Waikaremoana, Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rangitihi) is a mana wahine, kaupapa Māori researcher recovering ancestral knowledge that heals and empowers Māori and other Indigenous whānau. The author seeks to recover living relationships with our atua wāhine and helps to facilitate that for others th…

Loretta Lanauze (Imi Moriori, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāi Tahu) calls Rēkohu Chatham Islands her home. She lived there with her whānau until, like most teenagers on the island, she had to move to the mainland for her high school education. While many leave the island for schooling, few return to live permanently. Loretta however is one wāhine who has come …

Dr Rochelle Constantine (University of Auckland) and Matt Ball (Ports of Auckland) share their kōrero about saving our tohorā - Bryde's whales - from the moment they knew something had to be done, to the challenges of bringing together key stakeholders, and their ultimate success in agreeing a voluntary protocol to slow ship speeds to 10kts in the …

Kaai Silbery (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui) is the founder of Go Wild Apiary, Chatham Islands Freeze Dried Honey. Also working as the head chef at Hotel Chatham, she is passionate about wild foods, endemic plant species and, of course, her bees. In this episode we travel to Rēkohu, Chatham Islands, to kōrero with Kaai about her unique …

As a 35 year old Māori woman some of my greatest pain, sadness, whakamā and frustration comes from my journey with te reo. Like many, I didn't grow up with te reo Māori as my first language and over the years I have searched for it in school, at night classes, through wānanga and with whānau. Recently I have yet again opened the books to continue m…

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 r…

Twin sisters Moana Tamaariki-Pohe and Donna Tamaariki (Ngāti Whatua Ōrākei, Te Waiohua, Cook Islands, Tahitian) share their kōrero about their beloved Ōkahu bay, looking back across generations with stories of past abundance, to post-colonial degradation of the moana, and recent restoration of mauri with the removal of moorings, kūtai replensihment…

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 a…