My First Ikura — A New Chapter in Period Equity and Māori-Led Wellbeing

At Dignity, we believe everyone deserves access not only to safe, sustainable period products, but also to the knowledge, confidence, and support that make menstruation a normal and celebrated part of life. That’s why we are excited to share My First Ikura — a powerful and beautifully crafted book by award-winning writer, photographer and storyteller Qiane Matata-Sipu. This book is far more than a children’s story. It is a reclamation of menstruation through a Māori worldview, restoring the cultural, emotional and spiritual significance of a girl’s first ikura.

My First Ikura is the first children’s book in Aotearoa written to guide tamariki and their whānau through first peroid grounded in Māori knowledge systems. Qiane’s storytelling repositions ikura as something sacred, connected, and celebrated, rather than something to hide or feel shame around. The narrative brings in atua Māori, taonga puoro, and the important role of whānau support — including tāne, grandparents, siblings and aunties — in guiding a young person through this transition. It highlights that menstruation is not a moment a girl has to navigate alone, but an experience embraced by her community.

The book’s illustrations, created by artist Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, are rich with cultural symbolism and natural elements, using gentle colours and kōkōwai-inspired tones to honour whakapapa and the whenua. The visual storytelling sits beautifully alongside Qiane’s words, creating a resource that feels grounding, affirming and accessible for tamariki aged around 6–12.

For us at Dignity, this kaupapa aligns with everything we stand for. Access to period care is only one part of period equity. Education, inclusivity, cultural relevance, and empowerment matter just as much. When workplaces and community organisations have tools that open conversations — especially ones that feel culturally grounded and safe — we create better environments for everyone. A book like My First Ikura helps normalise menstruation, reduces stigma, and promotes wellbeing in a way that resonates deeply across Aotearoa.

That’s why we’re proud to partner with Qiane to offer a meaningful, sustainable gifting option: My First Ikura paired with our First Period Pack. This bundle brings together a beautifully illustrated book with a supportive selection of sustainable period products — making it ideal for workplaces looking for a gifting alternative that has real impact. Instead of branded merchandise or disposable corporate gifts, organisations can give something heartfelt, educational and truly valuable to staff, customers or community groups.

This combination creates opportunities for parents and caregivers to have open conversations with their tamariki, for workplaces to support staff wellbeing, and for whānau to strengthen intergenerational knowledge. We’ve designed this gift option to work for a wide range of settings — from individual staff gifts, to client gifting, to wellbeing initiatives, to school or community programmes.

For corporate wellbeing programmes, My First Ikura and the First Period Pack can be used as part of a workplace learning session or a lunch-and-learn on period equity. In schools and community groups, it becomes a gentle entry point into broader kōrero about body confidence, mana, and transitions into adolescence. And for whānau, it creates a space where everyone — not just mothers or older sisters — can participate in supporting a young person at this important time.

By choosing to gift My First Ikura, you’re helping us move toward a future where menstruation is understood, supported and celebrated. A future where tamariki grow up confident in their bodies, and where workplaces and communities are active allies in their wellbeing. A future where period dignity is not an exception, but an expectation.

We’re incredibly proud to support this kaupapa, and we hope this book finds its way into the hands, homes and hearts of many across Aotearoa.

If your organisation would like to support this mahi and buy or gift a My First Ikura + First Period Pack this season click here.