Colonization Via Transcription Algorithm

Nicola Andrews

I love and miss my whānau
I try my best for my hapū and iwi
I keep my whakapapa close
Trying to keep everything tika

I keep my taonga close to my skin
I look starward and remember my kaumātua
I reflect on our mokopuna, and
Consider our inherent sovereignty

In fact, to be born Māori is a gift
Just like any Indigenous kaupapa
I hope my whānau can be proud
I hope my whakapapa remembers me

///

I love and miss my foreigner
I try my best for my happy anyway
I keep my pop-up blockers close
Trying to keep everything takeaway

I keep my town close to my skin
I look starward and remember my customer
I reflect on our album opener, and
Consider our urine sovereignty

In fact, to be born modern is a gift
Just like any digital type of data
I hope my farmer can be proud
I hope my pocket papa remembers me

NB: Words substituted from Zoom transcriptions of interviews with Māori peers discussing Tino Rangatiratanga, 2019-2022

Feature Date

April 30, 2023

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Nicola Andrews (Ngāti Pāoa, Pākehā) is an academic and writer currently living on Ramaytush Ohlone territory. An alum of the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation and Rooted & Written fellowships, in 2022 they were awarded second place in the Kohukohu Library Poetry Prize and Takahē Monica Taylor Poetry Prize. Their micro-chap Sentimental Value is forthcoming in the Ghost City Press 2023 Summer Series. For more of their work, visit bit.ly/NicolaAndrews.

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Apogee

New York, New York

Executive Editor
Alexandra Watson

Managing Editors
Mina Seçkin
Minahil Akbar Khan

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Apogee is a journal of literature and art that encourages the thoughtful exploration of identity and its intersections, including but not limited to: race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. We pay tribute to the Black feminist Combahee River Collective in our recognition that “the major systems of oppression are interlocking,” and to that end, work to combat the domination of white, cis-heteronormative, patriarchal voices in our literary landscape.

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