Rachel Trow

Metro — For The Sake of Our Boys

The changes to the house names reflect design changes across the school. Raukura plumes welcome visitors to the school, framing the entrance like a waharoa. The proud raukura man sits in the entryway to the reception as well. When parents call the school the automatic answer machine is the head boy offering a greeting in Māori. The hold music is a recording of the Raukura kapa haka group. Various taonga adorn the school, reinforcing to Māori boys that the school is very much their place. The c

Ranking the Songs of Native Manu

They say that early Polynesian explorers could hear Aotearoa before they saw it. The chorus of the bush sounded across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, beckoning Māori towards its riches – karanga through the mist. Our native manu are one of the most special aspects of Aotearoa. Historically, geographically and socially, our native birds are integral to what makes this place unique. One might even say they’re one of the few things we can all agree on (Bird of the Year is arguably more popular than our gener

Moko Kauae (I, II, and III)

Dear Lorde, it’s Not Me, it’s You

It brings me absolutely no joy to draw this conclusion. The signs have been there for a while, but I was too scared to acknowledge them. When you love someone, it’s easy to look past their faults, even when they start to hurt you. I truly believe that there are few pleasures left in this hellscape we call late-stage capitalism; I truly believe that unapologetic “pop alchemy”, as Lorde describes her work, is one of them. I don’t mean to ruin this haven of escapism with my overthought reckons, but

Issue 12 - 'Prada Personality' and 'Ancestral Quartet'

This is my bag of trauma My avant-garde collection Of crimes committed against me Oh how I love my purse of poisons My upper-middle undiagnosed ADHD My vintage colonisation trauma narrative My parasocial social responsibility And the tongues I tore from ex-friends’ mouths The handle is made of clout chasers Their bones keep the bag nestled in my elbow The outer is made of gatekeepers They sing sweet nothings on my hot girl walk I drag it every where I go To mahi, to the club, to the

A human compass: Ruby Mae Hinepunui Solly on finding her way

A human compass: Ruby Mae Hinepunui Solly on finding her way Kāi Tahu are multi-faceted; this we know. But Ruby Mae Hinepunui Solly (Kāi Tahu – Waihao, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha,) takes multi-faceted to the next level. At just 25, Ruby has had more success than she’s willing to admit. Kaituhi Rachel Trow (Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) spoke to Ruby about her Kāi Tahutaka and the next generation of Māori storytellers. With an impressive array of creative tools in her kete, Ruby

Absent VUW Halls Students Being Charged For Their Rooms

Salient Staff - with additional Reporting from Azaria Howell and Ethan Griffiths Students at Victoria University of Wellington have been told that fees will be charged for Halls of Residence from 29 April for most Halls, despite many students being unable to return. In an email sent to hall residents, besides those in Te Puni Village and Vic House, the University told students they will need to wait until the country enters Alert Level 2 before being able to return, as national travel restrict

OPINION: Drugs Were Always Legal for Pākehā

Like all things, there is a whakapapa to the criminalisation of drugs in Aotearoa. Voting in this referendum has everything to do with race and colour. The criminalisation of drugs in Aotearoa is just a small part of how this motu continues to be colonised. Hence, a vote against the legalisation of cannabis will reinforce this cycle. Drugs now considered illegal came with the colonisers. They were readily used—but not in ways we might expect. Opiates, cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol were mixed

He Waka Eke Noa

Time slows down on Rakiura. There’s no running water or power during the day. Not where we live. For hundreds of years, my whanau have returned to the remote islands surrounding ‘Stewart Island’ to harvest Titi. Most are only contactable by radio. The emergency call to return to the mainland in March came just a week into the three month harvest season. Many were reluctant to return. The journey to the islands isn’t just about feeding whānau. It’s about feeding wairua—that of our own, and that