Maori When I think of New Zealand, the words openness and equality come to mind. One notable difference between New Zealand and other countries is its treatment of indigenous people. The Māori people there make up 16.5 percent of the total population in New Zealand. You could feel the importance of them there. Most museums include multiple ancient Māori artifacts and there are also museums dedicated solely to Māori history. Initial relations between Māori and Europeans at the beginning of their arrival were very good. The Europeans didn’t wage war on the Māori people like many Europeans did to the other native people who lived on the land that they found. There was even a treaty that protected the lands of the Māori people. I think that this really shows how inclusive New Zealand people are. They didn’t force Maori people to completely abandon their culture but instead integrated some of their cultures into theirs. In New Zealand, alongside an English greeting, the words “Kia Ora” can often be seen next to it. Kia Ora means hello in Maori.
The word “native” has multiple meanings. To some, it simply means to be indigenous to a place. The word for native in Maori is actually “Maori,” which means “normal”, “natural” or “ordinary.” Presumably, it was the Maori’s way of understanding themselves (and perhaps differentiating themselves from other, non-Maori people). For immigrants, “native” is like a secret password they constantly strive for but never seem to grasp. How do you become native? This was the 16