Educational Course · Bilingual · AI & Māori Data Sovereignty

Te Pā Tūwatawata

Six modules exploring AI, Māori data sovereignty, tikanga, and Indigenous control over digital infrastructure — taught bilingually in te reo Māori and English.

He aha tēnei akoranga?

Te Pā Tūwatawata is the anchor case study for this course. Built from a radical pedagogy framework, it connects Indigenous data governance to the lived realities of algorithmic extraction, colonial data infrastructure, and the struggle for Māori digital futures.

"AI must not become a new machine for stealing Māori data."

This course is free and open. Each module combines te reo Māori framing with English discussion, primary sources from kaupapa Māori research, and critical questions for further inquiry. The symbolism of kōwhaiwhai — whakapapa, life, protection, abundance — runs through every page.

The design language of this site

Every visual element here draws from the traditional kōwhaiwhai palette and motif vocabulary. Kōwhaiwhai were painted on the heke (rafters) of wharenui — they told stories of whakapapa, protected the people within, and connected the present to the ancestors. The same logic applies here.

Whero — Red Te Whai Ao: coming into being, mana, life force, rangatiratanga
Mangu — Black Te Korekore: potential, the void, the darkness before creation
Mā — White Te Ao Mārama: the realm of light, purity, the physical world
Koru Unfurling fern frond — new life, growth, renewal, perpetual movement

The kōwhaiwhai band at the top represents whakapapa — the genealogical line connecting ancestors to descendants, as painted on the tahuhu (ridgepole) of a wharenui. The niho taniwha (taniwha teeth) borders signal protection and the strength of those who guard what is inside. The ghost koru in the hero section represents the course itself: something new unfolding, drawing energy from its origin.

Each motif carries a campaign message. Copy the tweet, download the image, post and tag #KiwiDialectic #TinoRangatiratanga #MāoriDataSovereignty.

Koru — New life / beginnings

Ko wai nāu i hanga? — Who built the systems that govern your data? The koru unfurls, but who decides which direction? Take the free course. #KiwiDialectic #MāoriDataSovereignty 🌿

↓ Download X card

Pā Tūwatawata — Protection

A pā was not just a fortress. It was a way of organising community. Te Pā Tūwatawata is doing the same thing — but for Māori data. Who holds the palisade? #TinoRangatiratanga

↓ Download X card

Niho Taniwha — Challenge

The taniwha's teeth are at the threshold. Every time an AI model trains on Māori language, stories, or faces without consent — that's a bite. He raupatu tonu tēnei. #AIActivism

↓ Download X card

Kōwhaiwhai — Genealogy / law

Ko te tikanga te ture tuatahi. Tikanga is the first law. It was here before the Treaty, before Parliament, before the internet. Any tech that ignores it is operating outside the law. #KaupapaMāori

↓ Download X card

Unaunahi — Collective armour

Fish scales interlock. No single scale holds the whole — but together they form armour. Ko tātou he kahu. Data sovereignty is not individual. It is collective. Kotahitanga. #Unaunahi

↓ Download Unaunahi card

Takarangi — Duality / future

Ka huri ka huri — it turns and turns. Two spirals, past and future, wound together. The digital future is not separate from te ao Māori. Ko tātou te anamata. #SovereignFutures

↓ Download X card

Ngā tohu e ono — Go deeper

Every motif has its own page.

Cultural context, art history, political meaning, learning activities, X threads, social cards — one dedicated page per motif. Explore the full design language of this course.

Koru Pā Tūwatawata Niho Taniwha Kōwhaiwhai Unaunahi Takarangi All motifs →

Ono akoranga

Click any module to read the full lesson, discussion notes, and resources.

Module 1 — Activity

Data whakapapa map

Draw a whakapapa of your own data: where was it born, who holds it, where has it travelled? Map it like an ancestor chart. What does that reveal?

Tweet prompt: "I just mapped the whakapapa of my data. Try it — draw every company that holds something you shared. The result is haunting. Module 1 👉 [link] #KiwiDialectic"

Module 2 — Activity

Design your own pā

If you were to build a digital pā for your community — who would be inside? What tikanga would govern access? Draw the walls, the gates, the kaitiaki.

Tweet prompt: "What would a digital pā look like — built on tikanga instead of terms of service? Module 2 blew my mind. Free course 👉 [link] #TePāTūwatawata"

Module 3 — Activity

Raupatu audit

Name one AI product that uses indigenous data without consent. Research it. Who profits? Who loses? Write 200 words in te reo or English — or both.

Tweet prompt: "AI companies are training on Māori voices, faces, and waiata without consent. This is raupatu in digital form. He raupatu tonu tēnei. #AIActivism #MāoriDataSovereignty"

Module 4 — Activity

Tikanga test

Take any tech company's privacy policy. Apply three tikanga principles to it: whakapapa (relationship), mana (authority), kaitiakitanga (guardianship). Does it pass?

Tweet prompt: "Applied tikanga to Google's privacy policy. It fails on whakapapa, mana, AND kaitiakitanga. Ko te tikanga te ture tuatahi. Module 4 👉 [link] #KaupapaMāori"

Module 5 — Activity

Ethics by design

Redesign one feature of a social media platform using unaunahi logic — interlocking layers, collective protection. Draw it. What changes? What disappears?

Tweet prompt: "What if social media was built like unaunahi — fish scales, each one protecting the next? Collective design over extraction. Module 5 👉 [link] #EthicalDesign"

Module 6 — Activity

Manifesto haiku

Write a three-line manifesto for sovereign digital futures in te reo Māori. No English allowed. Post it. Tag #KiwiDialectic. Watch what happens.

Tweet prompt: "Ko tātou te anamata. Finished Module 6 of this free course on Māori data sovereignty. My brain is restructured. Take it. 👉 [link] #SovereignFutures #TinoRangatiratanga"

Ready-to-post X/Twitter thread — copy and fire

1/ AI is the latest form of raupatu. Here's what that means — and what Māori are doing about it. 🧵 #AIActivism #MāoriDataSovereignty 2/ Raupatu = land confiscation. 1860s. The Crown took land without consent. In 2024, tech companies take Māori language, faces, waiata, and stories to train AI — also without consent. Different century. Same logic. 3/ Te Pā Tūwatawata is the answer. Māori-owned, tikanga-governed digital infrastructure. Servers on marae. Data stays in the community. This is what sovereignty looks like in the 21st century. tepatuwatawata.io 4/ Ko te tikanga te ture tuatahi. Tikanga is the first law. It predates Parliament, predates the internet, predates AI. Any technology that ignores tikanga is operating illegally in te ao Māori. 5/ The course is free. Six modules. Bilingual. Built on the work of Te Mana Raraunga, Kāhui Raraunga, and Te Hiku Media. Start here 👉 [link] #KiwiDialectic #TePāTūwatawata

Free teaching resources

Five downloadable PDFs for educators, community facilitators, researchers, and activists. Free to print, reproduce, and share under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

All PDFs are free to print, copy, and adapt for non-commercial educational use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Attribution: The Kiwi Dialectic — kiwidialectic.com.

In the classroom

Print the Teacher's Handbook. Open with a Freirean generative word — try raraunga (data) or raupatu (confiscation). Let the room define it before you do. Use module memes as discussion starters.

In a wānanga

Use the Student Activity Sheets as koha for participants. The arts kit's kōwhaiwhai design session works as an icebreaker. No internet required — everything is printable.

For community groups

The rhizome PDF works as a manifesto for decentralised organising. Print it. Leave copies. Use the 8 tools as a planning template. Each tool is independent — start anywhere.

On social media

Share a PDF page as an image. Photograph the Teacher's Handbook open on a desk. Post a student's activity sheet response (with permission). Use the campaign memes as post images with the tweet templates above.

Share the toolkit — ready-to-copy social copy

X/Twitter: "Free teaching kit on Māori data sovereignty and AI — lesson plans, arts activities, printable student sheets. Built on Freire, Graeber, Kropotkin and kaupapa Māori. Download here 👉 [link] #KiwiDialectic #TeachingKit #MāoriEducation" Instagram: "Five free PDFs for educators and community facilitators — from lesson plans grounded in radical pedagogy to indigenous street art research. Link in bio. #KiwiDialectic #MāoriDataSovereignty #FreireInAotearoa" Facebook: "If you're teaching anything about data, AI, technology rights, or indigenous sovereignty — these free PDFs are for you. Bilingual. Print-ready. Grounded in kaupapa Māori and radical pedagogy traditions from Freire to Kropotkin. Download at [link]"

Campaign & messaging kit — All 30 motifs

30 motifs across 11 cultures — Māori, Samoan, Pacific, Tongan, Fijian, Guaraní, Shipibo-Conibo, Guna, Kayapó, Yanomami, and Amazonian. Each with activist meme images, motif artwork, hashtag sets, and course module links. All content CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — free to use and share.

Ngā meme whakahau — Campaign memes

Raupatu is not history
Raupatu — He raupatu tonu ↓ download
3 questions
3 Questions — He aha ōu pātai? ↓ download
Te Mana Raraunga
Te Mana Raraunga ↓ download
Data sovereignty
Data sovereignty — 4 tikanga principles ↓ download
Free Course CTA
Enrol — FREE COURSE CTA ↓ download
Ko tātou te anamata
Anamata — Ko tātou te anamata ↓ download

Culture / Cultura

Māori

Te Reo Māori · Aotearoa New Zealand

#TeReoMāori #DataSovereignty #IndigenousData #TeManaRaraunga #Whakapapa

Koru motif artwork

Koru

Koru

Meme / Activist image

Koru activist meme

Nova vida, potencial se desdobrando, o ponto de origem de todas as coisas. Algo está começando — ou …

Module 1: What is Data? · Módulo 1: O Que São Dados?

Pā Tūwatawata motif artwork

Pā Tūwatawata

Pā Tūwatawata

Meme / Activist image

Pā Tūwatawata activist meme

A paliçada fortificada — proteção coletiva, soberania sobre o espaço e a governança.…

Module 1: What is Data? · Módulo 1: O Que São Dados?

Niho Taniwha motif artwork

Niho Taniwha

Niho Taniwha

Meme / Activist image

Niho Taniwha activist meme

Os dentes do taniwha — a mordida colonial, extração sem consentimento, dano que deve ser nomeado.…

Module 2: Data Colonialism · Módulo 2: Colonialismo de Dados

Kōwhaiwhai motif artwork

Kōwhaiwhai

Kōwhaiwhai

Meme / Activist image

Kōwhaiwhai activist meme

A lei escrita na viga. Um conflito entre tikanga e estatuto, autoridade ancestral e poder estatal.…

Module 3: CARE & Sovereignty · Módulo 3: CARE e Soberania

Unaunahi motif artwork

Unaunahi

Unaunahi

Meme / Activist image

Unaunahi activist meme

Escamas de peixe entrelaçadas. Este momento exige resposta coletiva — juntas formam armadura.…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Takarangi motif artwork

Takarangi

Takarangi

Meme / Activist image

Takarangi activist meme

A espiral dupla — história se repetindo, passado e futuro enrolados juntos.…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Pikorua motif artwork

Pikorua

Pikorua

Meme / Activist image

Pikorua activist meme

O twist duplo — duas vidas, duas culturas, sempre unidas. Caminhos que se separam sempre voltam. O s…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Manaia motif artwork

Manaia

Manaia

Meme / Activist image

Manaia activist meme

O guardião espiritual — mensageiro entre o mundo dos vivos e o reino espiritual. Protetor. O duplo e…

Module 3: CARE & Sovereignty · Módulo 3: CARE e Soberania

Mangōpare motif artwork

Mangōpare

Mangōpare

Meme / Activist image

Mangōpare activist meme

O tubarão-martelo — coragem, determinação, força. O lutador que não recua. Resolução guerreira.…

Module 2: Data Colonialism · Módulo 2: Colonialismo de Dados

Culture / Cultura

Sāmoa

Gagana Sāmoa · Samoa / American Samoa

#FaaSamoa #Gagana #PacificData #IndigenousTech #OceanicRights

Niho Mano (Shark Teeth) motif artwork

Niho Mano

Niho Mano (Shark Teeth)

Meme / Activist image

Niho Mano (Shark Teeth) activist meme

Força, proteção, orientação e ferocidade. O tubarão é um espírito guardião reverenciado na cosmologi…

Module 6: Indigenous AI Futures · Módulo 6: Futuros Indígenas com IA

Atualoa (Centipede) motif artwork

Fa'a Atualoa / Ātualoa

Atualoa (Centipede)

Meme / Activist image

Atualoa (Centipede) activist meme

Força, resistência e compromisso com a família extensa (aiga). A centopeia é venenosa e simboliza o …

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Fetu (Star) motif artwork

Fetu / Fa'a Aveau

Fetu (Star)

Meme / Activist image

Fetu (Star) activist meme

Navegação, esperança e conexão espiritual com os ancestrais e os céus. As estrelas guiavam os navega…

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Malu (Diamond / Women's Protection) motif artwork

Malu

Malu (Diamond / Women's Protection)

Meme / Activist image

Malu (Diamond / Women's Protection) activist meme

Proteção e abrigo. Toda a tatuagem feminina (malu) leva o nome deste motivo. 'Malu' significa 'prote…

Module 3: CARE & Sovereignty · Módulo 3: CARE e Soberania

Aso (Rafters of the Fale) motif artwork

'Aso / 'Aso Fa'aifo

Aso (Rafters of the Fale)

Meme / Activist image

Aso (Rafters of the Fale) activist meme

Abrigo, proteção, família e lar. O 'aso representa os caibros da tradicional casa oval samoana (fale…

Module 6: Indigenous AI Futures · Módulo 6: Futuros Indígenas com IA

Fa'a 'Au'upega (Net / Community Weave) motif artwork

Fa'a 'Au'upega / Upega

Fa'a 'Au'upega (Net / Community Weave)

Meme / Activist image

Fa'a 'Au'upega (Net / Community Weave) activist meme

Interdependência comunitária, esforço coletivo e a prática da pesca. O motivo da rede (upega) simbol…

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Pe'a (Sacred Male Tattoo / Flying Fox) motif artwork

Pe'a / Malofie

Pe'a (Sacred Male Tattoo / Flying Fox)

Meme / Activist image

Pe'a (Sacred Male Tattoo / Flying Fox) activist meme

Rito de passagem sagrado que marca a virilidade samoana, o status social e o pacto com os ancestrais…

Module 6: Indigenous AI Futures · Módulo 6: Futuros Indígenas com IA

Culture / Cultura

Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa — Pacific

Pacific languages · Pacific Ocean

#MoanaNuiAKiwa #PacificFutures #VoyagingData #TeMonaanui

Va'a / Waka (Outrigger Canoe) motif artwork

Va'a (Samoan) / Waka (Māori/Cook Islands) / Vaka (Fijian/Tongan)

Va'a / Waka (Outrigger Canoe)

Meme / Activist image

Va'a / Waka (Outrigger Canoe) activist meme

Navegação, ancestralidade, liberdade e a reivindicação do Oceano Pacífico como pátria indígena. A ca…

Module 1: What is Data? · Módulo 1: O Que São Dados?

Culture / Cultura

Tonga

Lea Faka-Tonga · Kingdom of Tonga

#LeaFakaTonga #TonganCulture #PacificSovereignty #Manulua

Manulua (Two Birds / Interlocking Alliance) motif artwork

Manulua

Manulua (Two Birds / Interlocking Alliance)

Meme / Activist image

Manulua (Two Birds / Interlocking Alliance) activist meme

Unidade, aliança e a ligação das relações sociais. 'Dois pássaros' — as formas emparelhadas represen…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Culture / Cultura

Viti — Fiji

iTaukei / Fijian · Fiji Islands

#iTaukei #FijianCulture #Masi #DataRights #PacificData

Masi Kesa (Fijian Stencilled Barkcloth) motif artwork

Masi Kesa / Bolabola

Masi Kesa (Fijian Stencilled Barkcloth)

Meme / Activist image

Masi Kesa (Fijian Stencilled Barkcloth) activist meme

Identidade de clã, patente e proteção espiritual. Cada sub-clã (tokatoka) possui motivos de masi esp…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Vonu (Sea Turtle) motif artwork

Vonu

Vonu (Sea Turtle)

Meme / Activist image

Vonu (Sea Turtle) activist meme

Longevidade, resistência, navegação e a conexão entre terra e mar. O vonu é um símbolo de sabedoria …

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Culture / Cultura

Guaraní

Avañe'ẽ (Guaraní) · Paraguay / Brazil / Bolivia

#Guaraní #AvaNeé #DemarcaçãoJá #DataSoberania #SoberaniadeDados

Yvy Marã Eÿ (Land Without Evil) motif artwork

Yvy marã e'ỹ

Yvy Marã Eÿ (Land Without Evil)

Meme / Activist image

Yvy Marã Eÿ (Land Without Evil) activist meme

Terra sem males: paraíso mítico guaraní, livre de fome, guerra e doenças. Alcançável apenas por quem…

Module 1: What is Data? · Módulo 1: O Que São Dados?

Cuaracy Ra'Angaba (Solar Calendar / Image of the Sun) motif artwork

Cuaracy Ra'Angaba

Cuaracy Ra'Angaba (Solar Calendar / Image of the Sun)

Meme / Activist image

Cuaracy Ra'Angaba (Solar Calendar / Image of the Sun) activist meme

Relógio solar e lunar dos Guaraní. 'Cuaracy' = sol; 'Ra'angaba' = imagem. Símbolo do círculo eterno …

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Ñandutí (Spider Web Lace) motif artwork

Ñandutí

Ñandutí (Spider Web Lace)

Meme / Activist image

Ñandutí (Spider Web Lace) activist meme

Renda paraguaia tradicional cujo nome em guaraní significa 'teia de aranha'. Criada por mulheres gua…

Module 4: Land & Territory · Módulo 4: Terra e Território

Jagua Pytã / Jaguarový (Guaraní Cosmic Jaguar) motif artwork

Jaguarový (Blue Jaguar) / Jagua Pytã (Red Jaguar)

Jagua Pytã / Jaguarový (Guaraní Cosmic Jaguar)

Meme / Activist image

Jagua Pytã / Jaguarový (Guaraní Cosmic Jaguar) activist meme

Na cosmologia guaraní, o Jaguar Azul (Jaguarový) está contido na cabana de Nhamandu em Yvy Marã Eÿ. …

Module 6: Indigenous AI Futures · Módulo 6: Futuros Indígenas com IA

Culture / Cultura

Shipibo-Conibo

Shipibo-Conibo · Peruvian Amazon

#ShipiboKené #AmazôniaVive #DadosIndigenas #COICA #IndigenousAI

Kené (Shipibo Cosmic Geometric Design) motif artwork

Kené (also: quené, keno)

Kené (Shipibo Cosmic Geometric Design)

Meme / Activist image

Kené (Shipibo Cosmic Geometric Design) activist meme

Padrões geométricos tradicionais shipibo-conibo pintados em cerâmica, têxteis e corpos. Expressam a …

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Ronin Kuin (Primordial Anaconda / Cosmic Serpent) motif artwork

Ronin Kuin (also: rono ewa)

Ronin Kuin (Primordial Anaconda / Cosmic Serpent)

Meme / Activist image

Ronin Kuin (Primordial Anaconda / Cosmic Serpent) activist meme

A anaconda primordial que cantou o universo à existência na cosmologia shipibo-conibo. O padrão de s…

Module 5: Collective Knowledge · Módulo 5: Conhecimento Coletivo

Culture / Cultura

Guna (Kuna)

Dulegaya · Panama / Colombia

#GunaYala #Mola #PanamaIndígena #DatosIndígenas #COONAPIP

Mola (Guna Reverse Appliqué Panel) motif artwork

Mola

Mola (Guna Reverse Appliqué Panel)

Meme / Activist image

Mola (Guna Reverse Appliqué Panel) activist meme

Painéis têxteis artesanais usados pelas mulheres guna do Arquipélago de San Blas, Panamá. Seus desig…

Module 3: CARE & Sovereignty · Módulo 3: CARE e Soberania

Culture / Cultura

Kayapó

Kayapó · Brazilian Amazon (Pará)

#Kayapó #Amazônia #APIB #DemarcaçãoJá #TerritorioSagrado

Kayapó Jaguar Body Division Pattern motif artwork

Meï-kà (jaguar pattern, lit. 'jaguar-like')

Kayapó Jaguar Body Division Pattern

Meme / Activist image

Kayapó Jaguar Body Division Pattern activist meme

A onça é o animal-espírito por excelência dos Kayapó. A divisão bilateral do corpo em metade vermelh…

Module 2: Data Colonialism · Módulo 2: Colonialismo de Dados

Culture / Cultura

Yanomami

Yanomami · Brazil / Venezuela Amazon

#Yanomami #UrihaA #CéuCaindo #DadosIndígenas #APIB

Urihi a (Forest-Land Cosmos / Falling Sky) motif artwork

Urihi a

Urihi a (Forest-Land Cosmos / Falling Sky)

Meme / Activist image

Urihi a (Forest-Land Cosmos / Falling Sky) activist meme

Urihi a = floresta-terra: o mundo habitado dos Yanomami. A cosmovisão estratificada em camadas. 'A q…

Module 2: Data Colonialism · Módulo 2: Colonialismo de Dados

Culture / Cultura

Amazônia — Pan-Amazonian

Português / Indigenous · Brazil / Pan-Amazon

#LutaPelaVida #APIB #DemarcaçãoJá #AmazôniaÉNossa #PovosIndigenas

Luta pela Vida (Struggle for Life — Political Body Paint) motif artwork

Luta pela Vida (Pt); Ore arandu rekove (Guaraní concept)

Luta pela Vida (Struggle for Life — Political Body Paint)

Meme / Activist image

Luta pela Vida (Struggle for Life — Political Body Paint) activist meme

O acampamento 'Luta pela Vida' (agosto-setembro 2021), organizado pela APIB em Brasília, foi a maior…

Module 2: Data Colonialism · Módulo 2: Colonialismo de Dados

Ngā akoranga — Teaching kits · Materiais Didáticos

📄 EnglishTeaching kit — EN 📄 Te Reo MāoriTeaching kit — MI 📄 PortuguêsKit de Ensino — PT 📄 GuaraníAkoranda — GN 📄 Gagana SāmoaTeaching kit — SM

X / Twitter

Best use: Short provocations, threads, real-time political commentary.
Post times NZT: 7–9am, 12–1pm, 7–9pm.
Top formats: Single-image card (1200×675) + 1-line hook. Thread of 5 with escalating argument. Quote-tweet with political critique.

Hashtags: #KiwiDialectic #MāoriDataSovereignty #TinoRangatiratanga #AIActivism #TeReo

Instagram

Best use: Visual storytelling, carousel education, te reo content.
Post times NZT: 8–10am, 6–8pm.
Top formats: Carousel (10 slides, one idea per slide). Single 1080×1080 with long caption. Reels cover using TikTok vertical cards.

Hashtags: #KiwiDialectic #MāoriArt #TeReoMāori #DataSovereignty #IndigenousRights #Aotearoa

Facebook

Best use: Community groups, whānau networks, longer-form sharing.
Post times NZT: 9am–12pm, 3–5pm.
Top formats: Image + 3–5 sentence caption. Share to Māori education / activism groups. Event creation for wānanga.

Groups: Māori Education Network, Tangata Whenua Social Work, Kaupapa Māori Research Network

TikTok

Best use: Hook under 3 seconds, teach one idea per video.
Post times NZT: 6–9pm, 9–11pm.
Top formats: Text-on-screen explainer over taonga puoro or ambient audio. Vertical card as thumbnail. Duet + stitch for political commentary.

Script hook: "Did you know AI companies are legally stealing Māori language data right now? Here's what that means and what we're doing about it."

Substack

Best use: Long-form analysis, course excerpts, manifesto posts.
Cadence: Weekly drop tied to course module. Use module meme as header image. End every post with free course CTA.
Growth: Cross-post thread to X with Substack link pinned as reply 1.

Stack: solamiculum589777.substack.com

LinkedIn

Best use: Reaching educators, policy makers, NGOs, tech sector.
Best frame: "Indigenous data governance as a model for ethical AI" — positions The Kiwi Dialectic as thought leadership, not just activism.
Format: 1640×624 cover + 300-word article post.

Target: EdTech NZ, AI ethics circles, iwi development orgs, university Te Ara Poutama departments

Date Event Content angle Best platform
6 FebWaitangi DayTreaty + data sovereignty — the digital Article 2X, Facebook
June (Matariki)MatarikiNew cycles, new infrastructure — Māori futuresInstagram, TikTok
14–20 SeptTe Wiki o te Reo MāoriAI and te reo — who profits from language data?All platforms
OngoingAI product launchesRapid response — raupatu framingX (first 2 hours)
OngoingModule completionsLearner posts — ask them to share + tagInstagram, X

Underground. Horizontal. Ungovernable.

The colonial system is structured like a tree — root, trunk, branches, hierarchy. The rhizome has no centre, no single root, no authorised entry point. Cut it anywhere and it starts again on a new line. This is how whakapapa works. This is how te reo survives. This is how we organise.

Deleuze & Guattari

The rhizome

No beginning or end — always in the middle. Every point connects to every other. There is no privileged entry, no hierarchy of importance. Cut it and it starts again somewhere else.

Te ao Māori

Whakapapa as network

Whakapapa is not a family tree. It is a web — human, non-human, spiritual, ecological. Enter at any node. The past is mua — in front of you, visible. You walk backwards into the future.

Raina rere

Lines of flight

Not retreat — escape that creates new terrain. Te reo in kōhanga reo, Discord, hip-hop. Data sovereignty in tikanga-governed servers. A sticker on a lamppost. Every line of flight deterritorialises colonial space.

Kaupapa Māori

The war machine

Kaupapa Māori research is the war machine of indigenous knowledge — exterior to the colonial university, nomadic, non-hierarchical, oriented toward community wellbeing rather than academic capital.

"Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua."
I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.

Ngā rawa — 8 tools for the underground

1 — Te Aropā

The Māori urban drift — walk the colonial city reading its suppressed Māori whakapapa. Counter-maps. QR-linked pūrākau at every site.

2 — Te Pakiaka Network

Distributed sticker ecosystem — pakiaka root imagery, QR codes linking to course nodes. No centre. Any sticker is an entry point.

3 — He Kete Kōrero

Open zine series in the samizdat tradition — photocopiable, bilingual, no authorised version. Each issue from a different community node.

4 — Te Whatungarongaro

Tikanga-governed Mastodon instance — Māori-owned servers, kaitiaki moderation. A line of flight from Facebook and X.

5 — Te Pakiaka Kōrero

Open-entry wānanga — no prerequisites, no single entry point, knowledge moving horizontally in circle.

6 — He Kōrero Ngahere

Geolocated audio layer over Aotearoa — elders' voices, pūrākau, te reo place names accessible via QR code anywhere in the land.

7 — He Aho Tukutuku

Participatory data art — render community data sovereignty as tukutuku weaving. The weaving is the analysis.

8 — Te Tuakiri Raraunga

Printable A4 data sovereignty audit for whānau — photocopiable, bilingual, rhizomatically distributed.

Pakiaka

Read the full framework →

Te Pakiaka — the rhizome, lines of flight, whakapapa as network, art pedagogy, and 8 concrete tools for underground organising. Deleuze, Freire, Graeber, Kropotkin, Kaupapa Māori.

Post this — Rhizome intro

The colonial system is a tree. One trunk, one root, hierarchy all the way down. But whakapapa is a rhizome — no centre, no authorised entry, no single authority. Cut it and it regrows. This is how te reo survived. This is how we organise. #Pakiaka #KiwiDialectic

Post this — Lines of flight

A "line of flight" isn't retreat — it's escape that creates new terrain. Kōhanga reo was a line of flight. Te Hiku Media's own-voice AI was a line of flight. Te Pā Tūwatawata is a line of flight. Where is yours? #LinesOfFlight #IndigenousResistance

Post this — Wānanga invitation

Open wānanga. No prerequisites. No single entry point. Knowledge moving horizontally in a circle. We're using the rhizome PDF from The Kiwi Dialectic as a planning template. Join us. [date / location / link] #OpenWānanga #KaupapaMāori

Learning activity

Map your rhizome

Draw your activist network as a rhizome — not a hierarchy. Who connects to who? Where are the lines of flight? Where are the blockages? What would deterritorialisation look like for your community?

↓ Download

He Pakiaka Kei Raro — Full rhizome PDF

14 pages. Deleuze, whakapapa, mua/muri, Freire, Graeber, Kropotkin, and 8 concrete activist tools. Free.

Paste up. Speak up.

12 print-ready stickers — pure black and white, 300dpi, sized for die-cut printing. Grounded in te reo Māori protest tradition: Ihumātao, Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, Wai 262, data sovereignty. Inspired by Tāme Iti's propaganda poster campaign and the Colin McCahon word-as-image tradition.

Rectangle — 90×50mm (bump/laptop sticker)

Toitū te whenua — The land endures
Toitū te whenua — The land endures
Raraunga hei taonga — Data is a treasure
Raraunga hei taonga — Data is a treasure
Tino Rangatiratanga — Absolute sovereignty
Tino Rangatiratanga — Absolute sovereignty
Ko te reo te mauri — The language is the life force
Ko te reo te mauri — The language is the life force

Square — 85×85mm (pole/wall sticker)

Ka ngaro te reo, ka ngaro te iwi
Ka ngaro te reo, ka ngaro te iwi
Ihumātao — E kore e mutu
Ihumātao — E kore e mutu
He raraunga nō whai ao Māori
He raraunga nō whai ao Māori
Ka whawhai tonu mātou
Ka whawhai tonu mātou

Circle — 80mm diameter (helmet/bin sticker)

Toitū te Tiriti — The Treaty endures
Toitū te Tiriti — The Treaty endures
Whai Ao Kaitiaki — Guardians
Whai Ao Kaitiaki — Guardians
AI — Kāore e tika — AI without consent is not okay
AI — Kāore e tika — AI without consent is not okay
He waka eke noa
He waka eke noa

Free to print and distribute for non-commercial activist use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Created by The Kiwi Dialectic.

Print & cut

Download SVG or PNG. Print on sticker paper at Warehouse Stationery, PaperPlus, or any copy shop. A4 sheets cost $2–5. Print 10 at once — they go fast.

Where to place

Power boxes and lamp posts near universities and marae. Laptop covers at wānanga. Skate parks. Community notice boards. Inside library books. On your own gear — normalise visibility.

Digital stickering

Add SVG stickers to your Instagram Stories using the sticker tool. Screenshot and post. Use as profile overlays. Paste onto photo backgrounds in Canva for shareable posts. The motif travels.

QR code extension

Generate a QR code linking to this course. Print it onto the A4 sticker sheet alongside the designs. Anyone who scans it lands on a free education. Rhizome logic in action.

Post when you put them up

X: "Just deployed some #KiwiDialectic stickers around [city]. Tino Rangatiratanga in the streets. Download them free and print your own 👉 [link] #MāoriDataSovereignty #StreetActivism" Instagram: Photo of sticker in situ. Caption: "Ko tātou he kahu. We are the armour. Unaunahi stickers — free to download and print. Link in bio. #KiwiDialectic #TinoRangatiratanga #MāoriArt" TikTok hook: "I printed indigenous data sovereignty stickers for 50 cents each. Here's where I put them. [show each location]. Download free at [link]. #MāoriActivism #DataSovereignty"

Further reading

Start here — Māori data sovereignty

Go deeper — AI and indigeneity

Radical pedagogy tradition

  • Pedagogy of the Oppressed — Paulo Freire
  • Debt: The First 5,000 Years — David Graeber
  • Mutual Aid — Peter Kropotkin
  • Thousand Plateaus — Deleuze & Guattari

Connect + continue

  • The Kiwi Dialectic — follow for more
  • GitHub repo — all source files
  • Share using #KiwiDialectic on any platform
  • Print, remix, redistribute — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Tū māia — Stand firm

Ko tātou te anamata rangatira.

We are the sovereign future. Take this course. Share it. Print the stickers. Post the memes. Teach the modules. Organise rhizomatically. The digital pā is built one scale at a time.

Start the course Get the art Follow Kiwi Dialectic

Unaunahi Series

FISH SCALE · KOTAHITANGA · COLLECTIVE ARMOUR

Unaunahi — the fish-scale carving motif — represents kotahitanga: collective strength. Each scale holds the next. This series covers all major social platforms plus print posters, banners and street stickers. Browse full gallery →

Social Cards (B&W · te reo / English)

8 messages × 4 platforms — X/Twitter · Instagram · Facebook · TikTok

He Kahu Ko Tātou — X
X — Ko Tātou He Kahu
Instagram sovereignty
Instagram — sovereignty
Kia Tū Māia — X
X — Kia Tū Māia
Kotahitanga — Instagram
Instagram — Kotahitanga
AI Kāore e Tika — X
X — AI Kāore e Tika
Ko Tātou te Anamata — Instagram
Instagram — Ko Tātou te Anamata

Posters (A3 / A4 Print)

A3 — Ko Tātou He Kahu
A3 — Ko Tātou He Kahu
A3 — Nō Māori Te Raraunga
A3 — Nō Māori Te Raraunga
A4 — Kotahitanga
A4 — Kotahitanga
A4 — Kia Tū Māia
A4 — Kia Tū Māia
A4 — AI Resist
A4 — AI Kāore e Tika
A4 — Future
A4 — He Anamata Rangatira

Banners

Twitter banner
X/Twitter banner 1500×500
Facebook/LinkedIn cover
Facebook / LinkedIn cover 1640×624

Unaunahi Stickers (Print-Ready B&W)

Ko Tātou He Kahu sticker
Consent sticker
Data sovereignty sticker
Layers sticker
Resist sticker
Tino Rangatiratanga sticker
Future sticker
Build sticker

View full Unaunahi gallery with all 50 assets →