1st time volunteering at a prison yesterday, supporting an incarcerated student with his essay on Te Tiriti for an Open Polytech course. There's me, a pākehā phd student with all the materials in the world, living on his stolen land while he's locked up, denied even the internet.

Hawke's Bay Regional Prison does not allow prisoners into the prison library to browse. They have to just make a request of what they want. He'd requested resources on Te Tiriti, and had been given decades-old, obscure, unreliable books - 12 weeks after making his request.

He went ahead and wrote (by hand) a wicked essay of his own thoughts on Te Tiriti. Typed it up, submitted it, got a fail for incorrect referencing. Said it was demoralising.

Anyway, if you can, please donate a high-quality book or two to the library at your nearest prison. Maybe contact the librarian and ask which Tiriti books are most wanted, see if you can pick up a second-hand copy and send it in. I'll be taking in a bag of books next week.

Also a shout out to @againstprisons. Prisons are the real #NZHellhole