Aotearoa Cafe
Encyclopedia
The Aotearoa Cafe was the largest Māori discussion forum on the internet. The web forum was run by a group of Māori who are all members and participants in the Tino Rangatiratanga
Māori sovereignty movement.
In 2000 the Aotearoa Cafe became involved in promoting and education about Tā moko
— Māori styled tattoo. Several members of the Aotearoa Cafe began their own website http://www.tamoko.org.nz to address the lack of education out there about this ancient art, and also to address the overwhelming amount of misappropriation going on around the world concerning this art.
By 2001 the Aotearoa Cafe (by that time now hosted on Aotearoalive) became embroiled in cyber terrorism against the toymaker company LEGO
, makers of the Bionicle
series of toys. Māori accused Lego of being exploiters of Māori language
.
Lawyer Maui Solomon also became involved in the dispute and brought claims on behalf of several Māori tribes to Lego. Discussions resulted in Lego saying it had named its toys from Māori and concluded it would no longer use those words in future toys. They also promised to develop a code of conduct for cultural expressions of traditional knowledge
.
At the same time, members of the Aotearoa Cafe were involved in abrupt discussions with the administration of BZPower — a Lego Bionicle discussion forum. Māori accused them of continuing to use and allow the use of the word after Lego had conceded that it had misappropriated them and would no longer be using them. As the debate became more heated, many of the posts made were edited by the administration team in an attempt to maintain what they saw as constructive discussion. Uncooperative participants in the debate found themselves banned from the BZPower forums.
Retaliation involved the use of a denial of service attack. Because of the overload, BZPower remained offline while the administration upgraded the forum software. Although it was never established that the cyber terrorists that levelled the attack against the Bionicle
website were in fact members of the Aotearoa Cafe, the forums nevertheless received a retaliation attack from a group calling themselves, Free Speech Worldwide Inc, known to have no connections with BZPower.
Aotearoa Cafe was temporarily shut down as part of the October 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
, and the webserver was confiscated by the NZ E-Crimes Unit to be later returned. The website is no longer online.
Tino rangatiratanga
Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori term that can be interpreted as chieftainship. It is probably the most contentious phrase from the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi...
Māori sovereignty movement.
History
The Aotearoa Cafe began in 1998 as the Māori Discussions Online forums hosted on www.culture.co.nz (one of the first Māori websites on the internet).In 2000 the Aotearoa Cafe became involved in promoting and education about Tā moko
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
— Māori styled tattoo. Several members of the Aotearoa Cafe began their own website http://www.tamoko.org.nz to address the lack of education out there about this ancient art, and also to address the overwhelming amount of misappropriation going on around the world concerning this art.
By 2001 the Aotearoa Cafe (by that time now hosted on Aotearoalive) became embroiled in cyber terrorism against the toymaker company LEGO
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
, makers of the Bionicle
Bionicle
Bionicle is a line of toys by the LEGO Group marketed primarily for 5- to 16-year-olds. The line was launched on December 30, 2000 in Europe and June/July 2001 in Canada and the United States. "Bionicle" is a portmanteau constructed from the words "biological" and "chronicle"...
series of toys. Māori accused Lego of being exploiters of Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
.
Lawyer Maui Solomon also became involved in the dispute and brought claims on behalf of several Māori tribes to Lego. Discussions resulted in Lego saying it had named its toys from Māori and concluded it would no longer use those words in future toys. They also promised to develop a code of conduct for cultural expressions of traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge , indigenous knowledge , traditional environmental knowledge and local knowledge generally refer to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge also encompasses the wisdom, knowledge, and teachings...
.
At the same time, members of the Aotearoa Cafe were involved in abrupt discussions with the administration of BZPower — a Lego Bionicle discussion forum. Māori accused them of continuing to use and allow the use of the word after Lego had conceded that it had misappropriated them and would no longer be using them. As the debate became more heated, many of the posts made were edited by the administration team in an attempt to maintain what they saw as constructive discussion. Uncooperative participants in the debate found themselves banned from the BZPower forums.
Retaliation involved the use of a denial of service attack. Because of the overload, BZPower remained offline while the administration upgraded the forum software. Although it was never established that the cyber terrorists that levelled the attack against the Bionicle
Bionicle
Bionicle is a line of toys by the LEGO Group marketed primarily for 5- to 16-year-olds. The line was launched on December 30, 2000 in Europe and June/July 2001 in Canada and the United States. "Bionicle" is a portmanteau constructed from the words "biological" and "chronicle"...
website were in fact members of the Aotearoa Cafe, the forums nevertheless received a retaliation attack from a group calling themselves, Free Speech Worldwide Inc, known to have no connections with BZPower.
Today
Today the Aotearoa Cafe also claims to be involved in assisting Māori find their tribal links, continuing the struggle against neo-colonisation and misappropriation of Māori traditional intellectual property, raising political awareness of the Māori struggle for independence, and with the release of Aocafe Chat, bringing Māori together in online live chat discussions.Aotearoa Cafe was temporarily shut down as part of the October 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids
The 2007 New Zealand anti-terror raids were a series of armed police raids conducted on Monday, 15 October 2007, in response to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp deep in the Urewera mountain range near the town of Ruatoki in the eastern Bay of Plenty...
, and the webserver was confiscated by the NZ E-Crimes Unit to be later returned. The website is no longer online.
External links
- BZPower.com Bionicle fan site
- Māori Cyberterrorism Vs LEGO Leads To Reprisals
- Transcript of Discussion on BZPower
- NEO-COLONIALISM: Internet war brewing over Lego's use of te Reo
- Māoris win Lego battle Lego agrees to discontinue use of Māori words.
- Ta Moko website
- Anti 42below Vodka website - A feedback website about the 42Below Vodka racist web ad.
- Fony A website by a member of the Aotearoa Cafe about Sony misappropriation of Māori imagery.