2022 in review: Kaupapa Māori hit big online

He ao hou, he ao hangarau. This year has seen a strong presence of digital elements infused within our Te Karere stories.

Here are a few highlights of our top trending stories on our digital platforms for this year.

From the sweet melodies of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui to our whānau abroad, in a year filled with its fair share of blues, many of us found comfort in jamming out to haka and waiata.

Ngāti Rānana member Charlie Pānapa mentions the significance of the group in ensuring there is a place where Māori feel like they belong.

"Ngāti Rānana's become a place for people who are feeling mokemoke, lost, homesick – a place for them to re-connect with Aotearoa."

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descendant Wetini Herewini mentions the importance of storing their traditional performance items online.

"Kua whāia tērā huarahi kia noho atu ki te ipurangi ēnei kōrero, ana, ka whakairia ake ki runga ki tēnei pātaka kōrero, ana, ka pupurihia mō ake tonu atu (We've followed that path where these performances go online as a space where we can hold out traditions forevermore)."

Many of our "feel good" community stories across the country tend to be popular with the people, and there is no exception to this for our online community.

Charlie Wikaira runs a car servicing garage from his home in Whirinaki, one of the only garages in the area.

The self-taught mechanic picked up his first set of tools at the age of six. He hasn't left the trade since.

"When I was growing up, the thing to do was leave the haukainga," he said.

"I thought, 'Man, if I leave there's going to be nothing here'… It drove me to do something in the haukainga and give back to the Hokianga."

Te reo Māori also found its way on the sports field, with the language being encouraged at Tāmaki netball tournaments.

Event organiser Marutawhaorere Delamere says he wanted to be part of the organising crew as a way to give back to those who raised him within the Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa movements.

"E kite ai tātou, e rongo ai tātou i te reo i waho atu i te marae, i ngā kura kaupapa, i roto anō i te hapori, ki ngā kainga maha (It's good to hear and see the language outside of our marae, in our schools and in our communities)," he said.

Meanwhile, leaders of Te Tai Tokerau marched down the streets of Dargaville in protest of decisions made by the mayor of Kaipara Craig Jepsen to ban karakia during council meetings.

Enraged Ngāti Whātua leader Dame Naida Glavish called for the resignation of Jepsen, explaining the importance of karakia to Māori.

"Tēnei mea te karakia, ehara i te īnoi, ehara i te mea nō ngā hāhi, he karakia nō ngā atuatanga (These prayers aren't from a church... These are prayers that come from our gods)," she said.

When it comes to Disney classics, nothing comes close to the iconic Lion King film, which was translated into te reo Māori before the Matariki holiday in June.

For producer Tweedie Waititi, it was a dream come true.

"Tēnei kiriata, koianei te mea tino rongonui rawa atu... kua whakamaori kētia e te Waka Huia, me ngā kapa haka maha, nō reira e tika ana, ehara i te mea e rerekē tēnei kaupapa. (This film is a very popular one… It's already been translated by the likes of big haka groups such as Te Waka Huia, so it's not a new thing for us)."