Tēnā koutou katoa,
This blog is to share the Kia Mataara series of resources on the history of Aotearoa and a range of political issues up to the end of the 1990’s. The Kia Mataara series was created by Kia Mōhio Kia Mārama Trust.
Last year I was given permission to digitally reproduce this series so that it could be made more widely available. This is the first public sharing of the resources in digital form with the agreement of those that produced the publications. Finding a full set of the publications took some time and it was Bronwyn Yates and Barbara Menzies that provided the set that is held by Literacy Aotearoa to enable the digitising of the series. The series was produced through the efforts of Kia Mōhio Kia Mārama Trust and the graphics for the series were created by Moana Maniapoto. What is clear is that this publications provide a Kaupapa Māori approach to the issues discussed and the form used (which would be now referred to as a graphic novel) was to ensure that the information is accessible.
In describing the creation of the Kia Mataara series Moana Maniapoto states:
“When I came out of university – this was the mid-80s – I worked for a trust and it had people like Jane Kelsey and Rob Cooper who were really into decolonisation. I was a bit of a freshie coming out of uni, so they mentored me. I spent two years with this woman, Barbara Menzies, she’s a former nun, researching and looking at colonisation, and we created these journals for schools and I’d do all the graphics.We looked at religion and spirituality, justice, land, there were 12 of these journals”. (https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/08-06-2019/the-wonderful-world-of-moana-maniapoto/)
We are now in week three of the rāhui in Aotearoa as a result of Level 4 requirements of Covid19. Rāhui refers to the putting in place a period of ritual prohibition and is the term being used by many Māori for the current period of being restricted in movement due to Covid19. Rāhui is a measure utilised to enable the closing or restricting of a particular space and in this time is a way to understand and think about our own cultural processes for ensuring wellbeing. During this time many people across all education sites are adjusting to new ways of creating and sharing information and knowledge. There has been an exponential growth of zoom hui (come to be known by many as Zui) and sharing of resources. It is then a good time to share this series and to reflect on the political issues raised within each of the 13 publications.
Nō reira, he mihi maioha ki a koutou o Kia Mōhio Kia Mārama Trust mō ō koutou mahi whakahirahira, me ō koutou whakaaetanga kia tuku ēnei pukapuka ki te ao. Tēnā koutou.