DeeKnow’s Grotto

apparently, last year Lego launched a new range of action figures called Bionicles which are "imaginary inhabitants of the island of Mata Nui, who are under the power of an evil beast called Makuta".

The more you read about the figures the more you recognise the strong polynesian influence in names for the fictional characters, locations and culture that Lego have generated to support the figures.

According to an article at Wired, the names used for the product so closely resembled Maori names that NZ lawyer Maui Solomon wrote to Lego on behalf of three Maori tribes objecting to their use claiming...

"It was an unauthorized use of traditional names and language, and it was an inappropriate use...There had been no consultation, no prior informed consent. And it's a trivialization...there are cultural and moral issues"

To the point where Lego, after sending a rep down to NZ to meet with the tribes, have since withdrawn the contentious names from the Bionicle Range and are avoiding use of any Maori in future.

Solomon has been involved in numerous Waitangi Tribunal claims, including the  amazing WAI-262 Claim, called the Indigenous Flora and Fauna and Maori Intellectual and Cultural Property Claim, which seeks to re-establish te tino rangatiratanga to the knowledge of native plants and animals and cultural taonga. This knowledge, claimants say, was traditionally owned by Maori.

In an interview with In Motion Magazine, Solomon describes the WAI-262 claim as "one of the most important claims that's been brought in New Zealand to date" and that despite the 1st hearing being held in 1997 and "one of the things that frustrates the claimants is the complete lack of funding that's been provided by the Crown"

5:00:28 PM  

despite the fact that Hamilton is possibly the least likely terrorist target on the planet, I thought I'd post the following anyway which was FWDd on from a mate of mine, Kirky...

I don't normally take these things seriously...but I thought to be on the safe side I'd pass this story on that I received from a mate in London: My friend's girlfriend was on a train from Paris to London sitting next to an Arabic looking young man. When the train arrived she noticed that he'd left behind a carry bag. She chased after him and gave it to him; he looked inside to check the contents and she couldn't help noticing it was stuffed full of cash.

He was very grateful and noticing her accent she's a kiwi) asked where she was from. When she said New Zealand he thought for a while and said very quietly that in recognition of her kindness he would give her a tip-off affecting NZ and told her to tell anyone she knew to stay clear of Hamilton. "Is there going to be a bombing? "she asked. "No" he said "it's just a shit-hole"

4:36:10 PM