BALDH3AD! We Will Fight On Forever and Ever!

A Maaori alternative artist from Aotearoa uses art and music to protest colonial laws and reclaim the power of her peoples.

WORDS, MUSIC, AND VIDEO    THEIA  |  IMAGES    Frances Carter

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★ BALDH3AD! (lyrics) ★

I cannot breathe, please step off of my chest
Loosen the noose tightening ‘round my neck
I wish for freedom and to sing my song
We’re prisoners on the very land we’re from!

BALDH3AD!, you’re so well-fed on my destruction
Fetishize our women, silence our children
Plunder my motherland, pollute the sea
But still I survive, though you clip my wings
BALDH3AD!, you tricked us with your treaty

BALDH3AD!, your king sits high on his throne
He listens to his people, not to my own
Framed as a savage, I’m burned at the stake
A woman’s a witch, yes, it’s her that you hate
How dare you put shame upon my skin!

You are a cannibal, you brought the plague!
Curse us with churches, and teach us your ways!
BALDH3AD!, you made your bed!

Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!
(We will fight on, forever and ever!)

 

E ngaku nui, e ngaku rahi puta noa i te ao — nei raa te mihi ki a koutou katoa mai i teenei uri noo Waikato, noo Ngaati Tiipa, noo Ngaati Aamaru. (Greetings, esteemed relatives throughout the world. I, a descendant of the Waikato, Ngaati Tiipa, and Ngaati Aamaru people, acknowledge you.)

My name is Theia, and I would like to share the lyrics and meaning behind my waiata mautohe (song of resistance), entitled “BALDH3AD!,” as well as some photos from the video shoot featuring myself and other rangatahi Maaori (native youths).

“BALDH3AD!” is my musical assault on the plague of colonization, which has impacted our people since the 1800s and continues to threaten our language and culture under the current right-wing government. This song arose from the absolute disgust I feel toward the national coalition government, which is inciting anti-Maaori sentiment and actively carrying out its oppressive colonial agenda by trying to pass a bill (The Treaty Principles Bill) that undermines Te Tiriti o Waitangi (“The Treaty of Waitangi,” 1840) and parent document He Whakaputanga (Declaration of Independence, 1835) and therefore would remove our status and protections to exist on our own land as the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

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If passed, this legislation will eradicate the decades of progress we have made in recovering and strengthening our ahurea (culture), reo (language), and tangata whenua (people of the land) identity and hauora (well-being). The United Nations Human Rights Office has even sent a “please-explain” to the New Zealand government for their violation of Indigenous (human) rights — namely, “the rights to land, territories, and resources for Indigenous Maaori communities.” This letter was signed by three UN independent human rights experts. We are currently waiting with bated breath as to whether this toxic bill will move on to its second reading.

“BALDH3AD!” stood hand in hand with the hiikoi (nation-wide protest march against The Treaty Principles Bill) and was supported by Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, the co-leader of Te Paati Maaori — “the only Indigenous political party in Aotearoa dedicated to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi” — and hiikoi-founder Eru Kapa-Kingi. The number of Maaori people, young and old, who resonate with the direct anti-monarchy, anti-colonial lyrics of “BALDH3AD!” is remarkable, but not surprising. It indicates the unrest and need for art that serves as both a soundtrack for activism and a weapon for systemic societal change.

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In terms of music production, “BALDH3AD!” includes medieval-style accordions and also textures such as the puutaratara, a Maaori conch instrument, traditionally used to signal war. This waiata, of course, is a wero (challenge) and tohu (sign) that we will fight to the death and mobilize for the betterment of our uri whakaheke (future descendants). In the music video, I wear a Victorian-era dress for “white-face” Queen Victoria, who was in power when Aotearoa was colonized. It’s also my way to remind people that, in the veritable genocide of colonization, it is in fact the colonizers who are the savages.

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Yes, this waiata (song) is an expression of seething anger but also a call to action for my fellow waahine Maaori (Maaori women) and rangatahi Maaori (Maaori youths), with the understanding that this message can resonate with iwi taketake (Indigenous folks) worldwide. As an example, almost every day I wake up to a message written to my social media like, “You have reached Missouri — keep going!” I’ve also seen native drag artists perform to “BALDH3AD!,” and even a queer youth from Vancouver Island asked if they could use this song in their land acknowledgment. Recently, in February 2025, I performed in Calgary, Canada, and proudly sang this composition. It was astounding to know I was on the other side of the world from home yet still had fellow First Nations folks singing along to the waiata with such pride. Our resistance and message of resilience is shared around the world.

In closing, I write this message to ask you to stand with us and share decolonial Maaori or Indigenous literature and content to educate those around you. I’ll end with the final lyric in “BALDH3AD!” — a direct quote from revered Tainui chief Rewi Maniapoto, who led Kiingitanga forces against the invasion of Waikato in the 1860s: “Ka whawhai tonu maatou, ake ake!,” meaning, “We will fight on, forever and ever!” As such, we, the new generation, are here. We will not bow down. We resist. We stand together across the oceans.

Ngaa manaakitanga me te arohanui,
(blessings and love),
𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓪 xoxox

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Watch Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (co-leader of Te Paati Maaori) reacting to “BALDH3AD!” as she sees it for the first time.

Support the Cause: Stand with the Maaori. Share decolonial Maaori or Indigenous literature and content. Educate those around you. What is good for Indigenous Peoples is good for all!

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THEIA, Maaori and proud descendant of the Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Tiipa, and Ngaati Aamaru people, makes unapologetic, trailblazing, bilingual alternative music. Staunchly independent and writing political, challenging anthems, THEIA has earned critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone and Billboard Magazine, which describes her as “one of the most exciting voices to emerge from New Zealand in the last five years.”