'Alongside hits by The Beatles and Harry Styles, the soundtrack to sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary includes a powerful version of the waiata 'Pō Atarau', a song originally written in te reo Māori which became a global hit in English as 'Now is the Hour'.

Erima Maewa Kaihau (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Te Ata) — the woman who first penned its vocal melody and original te reo lyrics back in the mid-1910s — didn't receive the attribution or payment she deserved for her song's success, says Austin Haynes.

"It's a real shame that she has lain forgotten for such a long time, and that the song has become detached from her own name and kōrero, her own story," he tells RNZ's Nights.' https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/finally-recognising-her-mana-the-maori-composer-whose-110-year-old-song-features-in-project-hail #music #copyright #IndigenousIP #Nzlaw #HailMary

'Protest group Te Waka Hourua redacted the English text of the Treaty of Waitangi, which hung across from Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the ‘Signs of a Nation’ exhibit at Te Papa, in 2023.

The Crown has dropped all charges against the man accused of damaging a Treaty of Waitangi exhibit at Te Papa Tongarewa, in 2023.

Te Wehi Ratana, 31, from Nelson, was facing two charges of obstruction of police, and intentionally damaging an art installation, when the group, Te Waka Hourua, entered the museum and used spray paint and a power tool to damage the exhibit.

Ratana’s charges were dropped on Tuesday after his defence lawyer, Julia Spelman, had given the Crown a draft of a defence expert’s evidence for the future trial.

The judge was told the Crown Solicitor decided it was not in the public interest to proceed despite their thoughts the prosecution had evidence to prove both charges.'
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360949419/crown-drops-charges-against-man-accused-damaging-treaty-waitangi-exhibit
#nzlaw #nzpol #treatyofwaitangi #IndigenousIP