3 years, 100 indigenous women and a thousand stories. The NUKU Women podcast is a 100 episode series exploring the extraordinary lives of one hundred Indigenous female change-makers and leaders. The brain child of award-winning journalist and visual artist Qiane Matata-Sipu, the project focuses on interviewing, photographing and filming kickass indigenous change-makers.
With just over 70 episodes, interviews are released every Wednesday. From interviewing Tā moko artist to chatting with 70 year-olds about sex, there’s a wide variety and you’ll find your own story in at least one of these women. In trying to portray the diverse realities of wāhine taketake here in Aotearoa NUKU Women interviews some of my personal heroes like Tina Ngata and Stacey Morrison while also trying to provide a space for up and coming wāhine leaders.
The range of stories is incredible with every woman managing to leave some sort of wisdom with you before her hour of honour is up. I listened to a story about a 14 year old with a successful business and kicked myself stupid because I can’t even make it to my once a week 2pm lecture.
The podcast came to my attention at the news that Matata-Sipu had been collating the interviews into a book and was in need of help. At her call I applied and was given access to stories published and unpublished and began to write. What I didn’t expect was to leave so empowered. I had entered this space with no previous knowledge and a working mindset, but by story three I had ugly tears. So I listened, I broke down and I picked it all back up again multiple times within a single interview. This is the power of NUKU.
So whether that be through book, ear or right here we hope you give NUKU Women a try.
