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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 21, 2022

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more Maori would far rather a stop to most immigration than a name change when speaking English

You're correct that surveys have shown that Māori are more opposed to immigration than most New Zealanders. I'd be surprised to learn of significant Māori opposition to a name change to Aotearoa, though, given that the name change is advocated in a petition from Te Pati Māori.

There's a long tradition of Māori activism in favour of using Māori place names. I see some of the greatest passion when it comes to names for mountains in particular, whether we're talking Maungawhau/Mt Eden (small hill in Auckland) or Taranaki (beautiful isolated volcanic peak, formerly also Mt Egmont, but no longer). This makes sense, given that Māori identity declarations generally start with the mountain you belong to. Contrary to what you have implied, there is often fierce opposition, among Māori activists, for using English place names when speaking English. The land is an important part of Māori culture, as are the names given to the land.