Five things I didn’t know about Te Tiriti o Waitangi

When Kassie Hartendorp read Matike Mai, it completely changed the way that she thought about our country and history.

 

When I was growing up, we didn’t talk about Te Tiriti o Waitangi in my household. It never came up, and I didn’t think to ask about it.

But about 10 years ago, I found myself in a sunny community room at the local library, listening to the late Moana Jackson share his thoughts with a curious crowd. As one of the few 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 (the Declaration of Independence 1835) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

It changed forever the way that I thought about our country.

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 that it wasn’t just about Māori at all. While hapū and iwi have long histories of governing ourselves, the British were struggling to ensure that their people visiting our shores behaved themselves — and when they didn’t, it put our relationships, including trade, in jeopardy. The 500-plus rangatira 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 with 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. Unfortunately, the Crown (or New Zealand 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, rather than on 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 that change things every three years, imagine 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 the 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, while 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 decision-making 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, is an opportunity to 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 backward into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.

 

He mihi nui ki a Veronica Tawhai i te tautoko nui.

Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Pareraukawa, Ngāti Korokī) is the director of community campaigning organisation ActionStation. She was trained in the union movement and studied at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ahunga Tikanga (Māori Laws and Philosophy). Since then she’s been involved with social justice movements for Te Tiriti justice, LGBTQI+ rights, anti-racism and workers’ rights.