Tangatawhenua.com
Encyclopedia
TangataWhenua.com is an indigenous
, Māori-run and Māori-operated online news and information site based in Rotorua
, Aotearoa
New Zealand
. The name comes from the phrase Tangata Whenua
, "People of the Land".
At the end of the first year the company had a subscriber base of over 1400. The company was incorporated in 2003 and soon after the domain name
TangataWhenua.com was officially registered. There are currently over 7000 subscribers.
In 2005, RANGIKAINGA received a commendation from the Human Rights Commission (New Zealand) for its positive contribution to race relations. In 2006, RANGIKAINGA received an International Standard Serial Number
(ISSN) by the National Library of New Zealand
- Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, confirming its place as a periodic serial.
Project, recruiting the help the Māori Language Commission
and volunteers to complete the translation of the search interface launched on 23 July 2008, with two Google
staff members in attendance..
The website is now one of New Zealand's most popular Māori news and information web portals.
In early 2009, the company began developing digital communication strategies for Maori organisations, including web development projects for the Maori Party
, Mana Movement, Te Arawa Group Holdings, Te Arawa River Iwi Trust, Tuhoe Waikaremoana Maori Trust Board—and the National Trust of the Fiji Islands.
Later in the same year, TangataWhenua.com worked with, acclaimed Maori
filmmaker, Merata Mita
to market and promote the then titled film, The Volcano, by Taika Waititi
to Maori audiences online. That movie was later renamed 'Boy' and went on to become the #1 New Zealand
film of all time.
In 2011, the company put in a successful bid to Te Mangai Paho
, the Maori Broadcasting Funding Agency, for their inaugural Digital Innovation Fund, to design a news reader app
for the iPhone
. It will be the first ever app developed of this type for a Maori-owned company.
, indigenous self-determination and development. In the past it has strongly disapproved of mainstream media coverage of Māori issues including the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
and the 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
on Tuhoe
.
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
, Māori-run and Māori-operated online news and information site based in Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
, Aotearoa
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The name comes from the phrase Tangata Whenua
Tangata Whenua
Tāngata whenua is a Māori term of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and literally means "people of the land", from tāngata, 'people' and whenua land.-Meanings:...
, "People of the Land".
History
The site's origins are with a fortnightly web-based newsletter called RANGIKAINGA, developed in 2002 by Potaua & Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule while students at Waikato University. The newsletter's content provided relevant news, information and events targeted at a predominantly Māori audience. At the time there were no Māori-focused newsletters of this type.At the end of the first year the company had a subscriber base of over 1400. The company was incorporated in 2003 and soon after the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
TangataWhenua.com was officially registered. There are currently over 7000 subscribers.
In 2005, RANGIKAINGA received a commendation from the Human Rights Commission (New Zealand) for its positive contribution to race relations. In 2006, RANGIKAINGA received an International Standard Serial Number
International Standard Serial Number
An International Standard Serial Number is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic periodical publication. Periodicals published in both print and electronic form may have two ISSNs, a print ISSN and an electronic ISSN...
(ISSN) by the National Library of New Zealand
National Library of New Zealand
The National Library of New Zealand is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations"...
- Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, confirming its place as a periodic serial.
Digital projects
In 2007, TangataWhenua.com began facilitating Stage 2 the Google MaoriGoogle Maori
Google Māori is a Maori-led initiative which was made possible by Google's popular Google in Your Language initiative, which saw the translation of Google's homepage translated into te reo Māori.-Background:...
Project, recruiting the help the Māori Language Commission
Maori Language Commission
New Zealand's Māori Language Commission is an autonomous crown entity set up under the Māori Language Act 1987 with the following functions:...
and volunteers to complete the translation of the search interface launched on 23 July 2008, with two Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
staff members in attendance..
The website is now one of New Zealand's most popular Māori news and information web portals.
In early 2009, the company began developing digital communication strategies for Maori organisations, including web development projects for the Maori Party
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
, Mana Movement, Te Arawa Group Holdings, Te Arawa River Iwi Trust, Tuhoe Waikaremoana Maori Trust Board—and the National Trust of the Fiji Islands.
Later in the same year, TangataWhenua.com worked with, acclaimed Maori
Māori
The Māori are the native or indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . They arrived in New Zealand from eastern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300 CE. Over several centuries in isolation, the Māori developed a unique culture with their own language, a rich mythology,...
filmmaker, Merata Mita
Merata Mita
Merata Mita, CNZM was a significant filmmaker in New Zealand as well as a key figure in the growth of the Māori screen industry. Mita was from the Māori tribes of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi.-Background:...
to market and promote the then titled film, The Volcano, by Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi
Taika Waititi , also known as Taika Cohen, is a New Zealand-born film director, writer, painter, comedian and actor named as one of Varietys "ten new directors to watch" in 2007....
to Maori audiences online. That movie was later renamed 'Boy' and went on to become the #1 New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
film of all time.
In 2011, the company put in a successful bid to Te Mangai Paho
Te Mangai Paho
Te Māngai Pāho is a New Zealand Crown Entity responsible for promotion of Māori language and culture by providing funding for Māori language programming on radio and television....
, the Maori Broadcasting Funding Agency, for their inaugural Digital Innovation Fund, to design a news reader app
APP
App commonly refers to:* Mobile apps, software made for mobile devices*Application software, also called an App, software for specific purposesApp or APP may also refer to:-Computers:...
for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
. It will be the first ever app developed of this type for a Maori-owned company.
Editorial stance
On domestic matters it is pro-Māori, supporting tino rangatiratangaTino rangatiratanga
Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori term that can be interpreted as chieftainship. It is probably the most contentious phrase from the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi...
, indigenous self-determination and development. In the past it has strongly disapproved of mainstream media coverage of Māori issues including the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty...
and the 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
The 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids were a series of armed police raids conducted on Monday, 15 October 2007, in response to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp deep in the Urewera mountain range near the town of Ruatoki in the eastern Bay of Plenty...
on Tuhoe
Tuhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
.