Rnz: Te Ahi Kaa

Cy Mcloed is passionate about Kapahaka, health & fitness and moko. Justine Murray sits in on a session at his home at Mount Maunganui where he talks about how the physical demands of being a moko artist led to a lifestyle change.

Richard  Francis is a taa moko artist, graphic artist, teacher, painter and carver who graduated from the Māori visual arts and design school Toihoukura in 1995.

Te Ahi Kaa marks the 40th anniversary of the land occupation with a 1978 radio programme hosted by pioneering Māori broadcaster Whai Ngata.

After losing his teenage son to cancer, Tauranga tattoo artist and teacher Stu McDonald is convinced taa moko [traditional Māori tattoo] can play a role in healing emotional pain.

A new card game designed to help people learn and pronounce te reo place names lands in New Zealand schools and workplaces in the coming weeks.Creator Tommy Kapai Wilson hopes it will help normalise Māori language in homes, offices and schools.

Nichola Te Kiri incorporates Māori symbols and stories into the designs of capes, jewellery and lamps for her brand Nichola. She tells Justine Murray about leaving her day job to pursue her design dream full-time.

Lee Tane and his wife Trina create a range of native plant-based skincare products which harness the power of rongoā (traditional Māori medicine). Te Ahi Kaa visits their whānau kitchen, aka the NOA Essentials workshop.

When Ra Mead was a police officer, her colleagues used to wonder why she stayed in the force when her 'side hustle' selling secondhand clothes online was more profitable. Today she runs a vintage clothing store in Hamilton.

Free-spirited tattoo artist Pip Hartley tells Justine Murray how her lifelong passion for the arts led to a career in traditional Māori tattooing.

Taa Moko artist Julie Paama Pengelly talks about  the challenges she's faced in a male-dominated industry and why she doesn't believe in Kirituhi - the practice of non-traditional taa moko.

Northland disability advocate Ana Mackie receives a moko kauae (traditional facial tattoo) from Anikaaro Harawira in a new series about wahine taa moko artists.

Dr Haare Williams looks at why the 19th-century Māori prophet Te Kooti (founder of the Ringatu Faith) was both revered and reviled.

A school visit to Orakau battle site was the catalyst for a petition to commemmorate the history of the New Zealand Land Wars. Sociologist Dr Joanna Kidman shares her research into how the petition was met with protest and how a national day was finally realised.

As the first national commemoration of the 19th century New Zealand Wars takes place in Te Tai Tokerau, Te Ahi Kaa features highlights of a discussion with historian Harawira Pearless on his wayfinding project to  locate key battle sites in Crete.

Delwyn Rowan has lived in Tauranga for fifty years, she's a social worker and says homelessness in the area is only going to get worse. As part of her job she feeds up to 40 homeless people every week and tries to get to those hard-to-reach people that sleep under bridges and bushes on the fringe of the city. It's a job that at times places her in harms way but she's determined to help those with mental health problems, she shares her story.

The small township of Te Teko was the host of the Mataatua Kapahaka Regional Competition, from which the top groups go on to compete at Te Mataini 2019 in Wellington. Te Ahi Kaa asked performers what the art form means to them and how kapahaka will evolve. Educator Turi Ngatai, who is part of the senior group Ngai te Rangi pakeke, says kapahaka is about reconnecting on an iwi, hapū and whanau level.

Blanche Morrogh is CEO of Kai Ora Honey a whānau-run business in the Far North. Te Ahi Kaa is in Awanui to get an insight into the business and the lessons learned from Blanche's late grandmother Saana Murray.

He Korowai Trust in Kaitaia established Whare Ora, a rent-to-own housing scheme that has benefited a dozen families, and this year will launch a Māori Trade Training Academy. Te Ahi Kaa has a kōrero with the trust's CEO, Ricky Houghton.

Te Ahi Kaa visits Northland's largest Māori organisation for an insight into how its workers are tackling social and health problems in the region.

Te Ahi Kaa wraps up 2017 with a look back at some of this year's highlights.