The Best of e-Tangata

by Tapu Misa (Editor), Gary Wilson (Editor)

‘Stories help us make sense of who we are and who we want to be’

Naida Glavish: She wouldn't comply --
Linda Tuhiwai Smith: Transforming education --
An awakening for a Pākehā / Kennedy Warne --
Tangihanga : a dyiing tradition / Moana Maniapoto --
Eliota Fuimaona-Sapolu: Sad days at Auckland Grammar --
Sima Urale: They knew I was naughty --
Andrew Judd: An upbreinging too white by far --
Ending the shame of not speaking the reo / Nadine Millar --
Just because sec is taboo, doens't mean we're not doing it / Laura Toailoa --
A voyage around my father / Victor Rodger --
Kingi Taurua: Go and fina Pākehā name --
Sofita Hao'uli: Ignorance makes you exploitable --
Joan Metge: On Māori nd Pākehā --
Teresia Teaiwa: You can't paint the Pacific with just one brush stroke --
Jim Bolger: Maybe the Urewera owns itself --
The only Māori in the room / Māmari Stephens --
Gilbert Enoka: A winning formula --
Facing the truth about the wars / Moana Jackson --
Why we're reo refugees / Moana Maniapoto.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2017

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

e-Tangata is one of the sharpest news and current affairs sites I follow, mainly because it talks to me of ‘home’, of issues being grappled with by Māori and Pasifika people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. These are questions of language, of history, of life in the public eye, of all manner of ways of being in relation to a state, to manifold pasts, and to the every things of living and dying.

This fabulous collection of articles and interviews from its first couple of years was an unnecessary purchase – I had access to all of them on-line, but I liked the idea of having them in my pocket, in my bag, of being able to delve into them in places where my limited technology didn’t give me on-line access (the bus, a flight somewhere…..). They are a treat and delight, from the back story to Gilbert Enoka’s sport psychology to former (conservative) Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s reflections on the importance of knowing and learning warts and all national histories, from the questions of language learning and use to the challenges of growing up isolated from a cultural heritage or of hanging on to the heritage in hostile settings.

As with their on-line pieces, these are short, snappy and tempting, making them essential reading and leaving me wanting more while knowing that many of these stories and perspectives are one that many Pākehā (settlers and settler decedents) seldom hear: this in itself makes e-Tangata essential, and this collection a great introduction, ideal for those who might pick it up in a store but who might never stumble on the site. What’s more, the book slips comfortably into my pocket and is ideal for a short public transport trip.