New Zealand celebrates Māori New Year as an official public holiday for the first time

Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars, also known as the Pleiades, the rising of which is recognized by many of the country’s Indigenous people as the start of the new year. In a “Matariki helps to reaffirm identity and bonds that we have with each other. Those that have passed, those that are still with us and those that are still to come,” said Rangiānehu ‘Mātāmua, chair of the Matariki Advisory Group.”It’s a very important celebration and period of time that really helps to embed those central values within us.”Māori, who make up about 15% of New Zealand’s population, were dispossessed of much of their land during Britain’s colonization of the country. Thousands of Māori have protested for civil and social rights in recent years, and have criticized governments for failing to address social and economic inequalities.Earlier this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern introduced a new curriculum with mandatory teaching of Māori history and British colonialism.Ardern also appointed the country’s first indigenous female foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, in November 2020.Additional reporting by Reuters