New Zealand Journalist Becomes 1st to Anchor Primetime Newscast With Maori Face Tattoo
Oriini Kaipara has been a journalist for almost 20 years, focusing on issues of the country’s indigenous Maori people.
A New Zealand woman made history on Christmas Day, becoming the first person with a Maori face tattoo to anchor a primetime newscast.
Oriini Kaipara has been a journalist for almost 20 years, focusing on issues of the country’s indigenous Maori people. In 2019, she chose to get a moko kauae, a traditional face tattoo for Maori women.
Tā moko, or "tattoo," is a practice that started to disappear after the colonization of New Zealand in the 1800s, but since the 1980s there have been initiatives to revive the Maori culture.
The tattoos are very personal and represent a person’s identity, heritage, and social status.
Kaipara says she is committed to restoring Maori traditions and preserving the language. And she says having a presence on mainstream media is not only groundbreaking for her culture, but for all people of color.
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