NUKU

Dr Amber Aranui (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) has a special job. As a researcher for the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme at Te Papa Museum, she has spent the past 10 and a half years searching the world for our tūpuna, and working to bring them home. 

The bones and body parts of some of our ancestors are in museums, universities and private collections. Old. Young. Tāne. Wāhine. 

Amber’s mahi is to find them, learn about how they came to be there, investigate who they are, then try to reunite them with their descendants. It isn't an easy job, but it is an important one. And is one that gives her a lot of fulfilment. 

In this episode we talk about the history of ‘scientific research’ on Māori and Moriori, Amber shares some of the emotional realities of her mahi and, she teaches us about the issues related to repatriation. 

www.NUKUwomen.co.nz 

Lynell Tuffrey Huria is the only Māori patent attorney in Aotearoa. She is helping Māori navigate the intellectual property system, identify cultural property and develop protocols and processes for recognition and protection within Western structures.✊🏽

Of Ngati Ruanui and Nga Ruahine Rangi whakapapa, she is passionate about creating a better future for our people and in 2018 co-organised the first Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho conference to discuss ways we can protect our cultural heritage in this ever-changing world. 

She is a māmā, a nanny, a talented golfer and an ex DJ.

Damaris Coulter (Ngāti Kahu) started her hospitality journey as a child, working at her uncle’s restaurant in Kaitaia. She grew up around hospo and spent her early adult life learning from some of the best chefs and restauranteurs in the business, both here, and in Italy and the UK. 

When she returned to Aotearoa, she opened Coco’s Cantina with her sister, and ran the restaurant for almost 10 years before signing over her share to pursue a world-changing idea. 

Her new project, The Realness, shines a light on small business. A space to highlight independent, owner-operated, artisan food spaces. 

In this episode Damaris talks to us about her passion for hospitality and how she believes we can flip the economy by supporting small, and local.

Sidenote, there’s a few F-bombs dropped through this podcast, Damaris is a passionate speaker, so if swearing hurts your ears, this one might not be for you. 

Donna Tamaariki and Moana Tamaariki-Pohe are twin sisters whose affinity for the Ocean was passed down to them from their tūpuna. Of Māori (Ngāti Whatua Orakei, Te Waiohua), Cook Islands, Tahitian and Tauiwi descent, the pair have spent their entire lives working to protect and preserve the ocean. Whether it be through waka ama, navigation, teaching, governance or policy change, they are working to have an everlasting positive effect on their tūpuna moana, the Waitematā. 

The pair are also having great impact in the entrepreneurial space. Both are small business owners, with Donna currently in a role focussed on Māori economic outcomes. Moana wrote, and delivers, the HineBoss programme empowering indigenous women right across the country, into business.  

In this episode we discuss ego vs eco, we talk about the true measure of success and, we find out which twin has paddled enough nautical miles to have circumnavigated the world three times! 

Chelsea Winstanley is a filmmaker. She directed the documentary Tame Iti: The man behind the moko, and co-directed Waru, the heart-wrenching film about child abuse, made by 8 Māori female directors. Her producer credits include What We do in the Shadows, and the short film Night Shift. And most recently, she helped Hepi Mita make a documentary about his mum, the pioneering Merata Mita – sharing the stories of how she decolonised the screen. 

Now Based in Los Angeles with her husband and children, Chelsea is a world away from her home town of Mt Maunganui. And while there might be a few more red carpets in her life these days, this Te Puna girl has never forgotten how she got there. 

Today, we talk about that journey. She shares what it was like being a 21 year old single māmā having to rely to on a benefit, through to the life changing car accident that forced her to have to learn to walk again. 

She also talks about the realities of the film industry and the importance of indigenous representation on our screens.

When you think of a librarian, what image pops into your head? Because for me, before I met Kim Tairi, I saw an old nanny wearing a cardigan, glasses with a beaded chain, and a long burgundy skirt.

Born in Otepoti, she has spent a lot of her life living across the ditch. She loves working in libraries because they help build social capacity, they are a safe space, a warm space, and provide access to knowledge to help people navigate their way through life. 

In this episode Kim smashes all my preconceived ideas about this career pathway. The funky māma talks about indigenous knowledge systems, decolonising cultural institutions  and, feminism. 

(This podcast is marked as explicit, but she only drops 1 impassioned f-bomb about a third of the way through. Its otherwise safe for all ears). 

Ninakaye Taane-Tinorau is of Ngati Maniapoto whakapapa. She was born and raised in Otautahi, Christchurch before moving to Auckland at age 19. There, she became a peep show dancer and stripper, working in the sex industry for 4 years. With that lifestyle, came an addiction to drugs and alcohol. She isn't one to shy away from this period in her life, in fact, she talks about it openly to help other wahine know the realities of this world. 

Today, the māmā of three (and new nana)  is proudly 18 years sober. She is a managing director of a successful music production company and record label and, is one of only three people in Aotearoa who instructs Kemetic Yoga.  She is also a co-faciliator of women’s safety programmes. 

In this episode we talk about her journey, the dark parts of her youth, through to her experience with domestic violence. And, the light parts of her adulthood, sharing with us her time with Lakota people as she, along with other Māori women, performed a haka in solidarity against the North Dakota access pipeline. She also shares how she is using her platforms to help inspire, motivate, and empower Indigenous women. 

Content warning: This episode talks about domestic violence and discusses adult themes.  

Hinewirangi is one of those kuia that you want to sit with for hours. Her knowledge, her experience and her stories, are mesmerising. 

She is a writer and poet. An activist and a tohunga of taonga puoro. She has worked in rape crisis centres and, in prison rehabilitation.

In this episode we cover so many topics, as you do when you sit at the table with wahine full of wisdom. We talk about racism, Atua wahine and kaitiakitanga. Hinewirangi shares her personal story of sexual assault, how she faced her rapist years later and, the tools she used to help her forgive. We talk about art and Indigenous knowledge. About being strapped at school for speaking te reo Māori and how today, we need to decolonise our reo. And, we hear the fascinating story of her waka tūpāpaku, the vessel she is making to house her ashes, when she dies. 

Content warning: This episode may be confronting for some, it shares details about sexual abuse. Hinewirangi’s story is raw, and uncut. We do not shy away from challenging topics of conversation. For those who listen to NUKU with their daughters, you may want to screen this episode before you let your tamariki listen. There are adult themes, but I promise you, there is also some great wisdom we can all learn and grow from. 

Dr Huhana Hickey (Ngāti Tahinga, Tainui, Ngai Tai) is a Crown Director and a passionate advocate for our disabled community, our whanau hauā.

She has a long standing interest in human rights, particularly the rights of people who come from marginal backgrounds. She often comments on the consequences of discrimination and social oppression.

Of Māori, Navajo, Aboriginal and Sami whakapapa, Huhana was raised in Stratford with a Pākeha adoptive whanau. At birth, her ethnicity was falsified, removing all connections to her indigenous heritage.

In this episode we talk about indigenous disability and where human rights and tikanga Māori intersect. We share korero about Multiple Sclerosis and adress the notion that Māori don't get MS and, we discuss medical marijuana - its pros, its cons, and its misconceptions.

Reina Vaai is from Sataua, Savai'i. She lived in Samoa in her early years, until a cyclone destroyed her village and, her home. Her parents made the decision to move to New Zealand permanently. Here, she grew up in a humble home that housed their wider whānau. Her parents and siblings all shared one room. 

Upon leaving school, Reina pursued a career in law, and decided to practice criminal law. Not one to be confined to a single career pathway, this ambitious young woman has also worked as a television reporter and director. Just recently, she directed her first web series, The Misadventures of a Pacific Professional, and has written her first children’s book, The Inventor, dedicated to the children of South Auckland. 

In this episode we talk about Reina's upbringing and career pathway. We discuss the realities of defending some of our worst criminals and, we have a conversation about privilege, who has it, who doesn't, and how we recognise our own. Note: This podcast contains some adult themes.