You’re receiving this email because you have taken an action on OurActionStation - our people-powered platform where communities create a fair and flourishing future together. It includes information about upcoming free and heavily discounted Te Tiriti o Waitangi Workshops.
Dear Barry,
When I was growing up, we didn’t talk about the Te Tiriti o Waitangi in my household. It never came up, and I didn’t think to ask about it.
But about ten years ago, I found myself in a sunny community room at the local library, listening to renowned thinker, the late Moana Jackson share his thoughts with a curious crowd. As one of the only young people in the room, his talk started to fill in the blanks of such an important part of our history.
Moana told us about how he and a committed group of people travelled the country to speak with Māori about the future they dreamed of. What started as 30 community meetings, turned into 252! From 2012 to 2015, they met with Māori from all walks of life asking questions about how we can move forward together as a country.
These discussions were captured in a report often called Matike Mai, and the hope was to continue to spark a conversation among communities about what a constitution for Aotearoa could look like based on kawa, tikanga, and our country’s founding documents He Whakaputanga (Declaration of Independence) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (te reo Māori language texts of The Treaty of Waitangi).1 It changed the way that I thought about our country forever.
Here are five things I learned from Matike Mai:
1. Te Tiriti o Waitangi created a home for everyone
What often gets missed when we talk about Te Tiriti today is it wasn’t just about Māori at all. While hapū and iwi have long histories of governing ourselves, it was the British struggling to ensure their people visiting our shores behaved themselves –and when they didn’t, it put our relationships, including trade, in jeopardy. The 500+ rangatira (leaders) who signed Te Tiriti gave the British the ability to establish governance over their people here, so that everyone could live in peace and continue to seek prosperity, together.
In the Matike Mai hui, many Māori believed that Te Tiriti was inclusive and invited newcomers to become a Tangata Tiriti (person of the Treaty) and call this country home. Just as Māori had a sense of belonging here, they made it possible for others to have the same security and connection to this beautiful country. The intention was never that Māori would stop governing themselves, simply because British settlers were allowed to set up their own governance. There was a place here for all of us, and we could each look after our people as we saw fit.
2. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is about a relationship
It’s easy to get stuck in talk about treaty principles, but at its heart - Te Tiriti is about an enduring relationship between two different, independent peoples. Moana would often talk about how hapū and iwi had a history of making treaties and
strategic alliances between each other. When you live on an island - you have to learn how to get along most of the time! Good relationships are based on respect, dignity, communication and care for one another. But unfortunately, the Crown (or NZ Government) hasn’t always respected the relationship with hapū and iwi, putting their own hopes and dreams first and making things harder for Māori to survive and thrive.
3. Māori are still passionate and committed to Te Tiriti
Despite 184 years of an unequal and discriminatory relationship, Māori still believe in the future that Te Tiriti can offer us. Many Māori accept that those of our tūpuna (ancestors) who signed the agreement did so in good faith to create an honourable, equal and equitable relationship with the Crown. Even when we feel at our most hurt, frustrated or cynical, we know that the agreement was sacred, significant and bigger than all of us. It gave many of us a living blueprint for how different people from across the world could prosper together, despite all odds.
4. It’s all about values
The hope that emerged from Matike Mai is that our country’s governing structure can make decisions based on values that we all think are important - instead of the whims of the political moment. Some of the values that came through from over 70 meetings with young people included protecting the health and wellbeing of our natural environment, ‘kotahi aroha’ - the right of all peoples to peace and mutual respect, and the rights of all to access education, health and wellbeing. Instead of electing political parties who change things up every three yearsimagine if we had a government that was accountable to the values that really matter to us, so we can all have good lives. Te Tiriti offers a guide to make laws and systems based on values we share, including respect and dignity for all people in Aotearoa.
5. We can find a way forward together
What inspired me the most about Matike Mai is that it showed how Te Tiriti gives us practical solutions for where we go next as a country. Matike Mai suggested different examples for decision making which ensure Māori get to have a say over the things that are important to them, whilst ensuring we can all continue to look after each other and work together. By changing our structures to better reflect Te Tiriti, we can repair past harms, and move forward together on an equal footing. Some organisations and churches have already modelled relationships where decisionmaking is shared, so that our differences are embraced and everyone has an equal say. Structural changes like Māori wards and the Māori Health Authority were ways to make sure Māori got to decide the right way to meet our own needs, while creating a positive, respectful relationship with councils and the health system.
So where to from here?
Together we can chart a path forward where our differences are celebrated, embraced and normalised.
Every opportunity that we get to learn more about and honestly reflect on our history, we enrich the social fabric of our country for future generations. The more we know today, the better decisions we can make for tomorrow.
It reminds me of the whakataukī: Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. (I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past).
Are you ready to learn more about Te Tiriti o Waitangi?
We’ve teamed up with some great organisations so we can offer you both free and discounted learning opportunities.
Moea is a fifth generation Pakeha with a passion for celebrating the promise of the Treaty, and cultural relationships in Aotearoa, through addressing our historical legacy. The workshop includes: Context – the factors which led to the signing, He Whakaputanga / The Declaration of Independence, Comparing and contrasting the Treaty Texts, Processes and effects of colonisation and the Claims Settlement Process.