Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Māori business or everyone’s business?
By Sarah Morris, 2022 Cohort
Today is Waitangi Day, a day to commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), considered to be the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. [1] Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Māori chiefs. This Waitangi Day, Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity Sarah Morris (a braided river of Pākehā and Ngāpuhi descent) reflects on the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and how non-Indigenous people in Aotearoa might be better treaty partners.
I once thought talking about Te Tiriti o Waitangi was best left to historians, academics, activists and lawyers. How is a treaty signed 183 years ago relevant? Isn’t it too binary, too colonial? Isn’t it best left to Iwi (Māori tribes) and the Crown to sort out? Isn’t it… Māori business?
I’ve since changed my mind. While tino rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination) is absolutely Māori business, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is everyone’s business. In fact, I’d go further. Te Tiriti provides a blueprint for how we might collectively navigate the significant interconnected challenges we face in Aotearoa, as well as our relationships with the Pacific and other nations. These challenges include worsening inequity, prejudice and discrimination, climate change, and environmental degradation. The stakes are high, as demonstrated by increasing extreme weather events and exacerbated social issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges affect us all. Addressing them requires collective efforts that centre the health and wellbeing of people and nature.
A carving from Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) which acknowledges the arrival of William Hobson in Aotearoa and the mandate from the crown to secure a treaty with Māori leaders.
I’ve come to understand the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a commitment to balancing ethical relations. Seen in this light, Te Tiriti has the potential to be a touchstone, a reminder of who we are, how and where we belong, and what our rights, responsibilities and obligations are to live ethically in this Pacific nation, where Māori are Tangata Whenua (the Indigenous people of the land).
In a world where so many everyday interactions are negotiated through business and financial transactions, a treaty may appear to be like a contract. An agreement between two parties as to the terms and conditions of how to live together by certain rules. But as scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson explains, from an Indigenous worldview, agreement making is, and always has been, about values-based, non-dominating and reciprocal relations. Simpson explains that for Indigenous peoples, a treaty marks the beginning of an ongoing relationship underpinned by obligations and responsibilities. This stands in contrast to a Western worldview, which is more likely to see a treaty as the end of a negotiation or an agreement, like a receipt from a business transaction. I am reminded of the words of constitutional law and Indigenous rights expert, philosopher, author, teacher, and all-round legend, Dr Moana Jackson who once said: “Treaties are not meant to be settled, they’re meant to be honoured.”
Rather than a relic of the past, or a negotiation to be settled by those with governing powers, I believe Te Tiriti can be a useful guide for ethical and ongoing relations in work places, schools, hospitals, businesses and communities between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti (people of the treaty). Tangata Tiriti is an imperfect but inclusive term that represents an acknowledgement that all non-Indigenous people who live in Aotearoa, do so by virtue of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This means Tangata Tiriti have a right to be here, but with this comes responsibilities and obligations, including to respect and honour the Indigenous rights of Tangata Whenua, tino rangatiratanga and the land and environment.
I share Dr Jackson’s pragmatic, hopeful and workable perspective that Te Tiriti o Waitangi offers a way forward for how Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti can not only live together, but thrive together. Much of this vision is articulated in He Whakaaro Here Whakaumu mō Aotearoa – the Report of Matike Mai Aotearoa. Matike Mai is a fresh take on how Te Tiriti, and other imperfect but useful tools like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, can be leveraged to affirm and resource Māori self-determination and hold non-Indigenous people to account.
So how can one be a ‘good’ Tangata Tiriti partner? One of the most important lessons for me has been recognising that both insight and tension will arise from different worldviews working together, and that the discomfort and complexity of this should be embraced rather than avoided. This requires nurturing strong, trusting and respectful relationships.
I have the privilege of serving as the Tangata Tiriti co-chair of HuiE! Community Aotearoa, working in partnership with another AFSE Fellow, Jewelz Petley (Ngā Puhi and Te Rarawa), who is Tangata Whenua co-chair. Together, our board operates using a treaty relationship framework based on the spirit of partnership outlined in Te Titiri o Waitangi. Our board includes Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti, and we have agreed tikanga for collective decision-making. Our Tangata Whenua caucus is diverse across age, Iwi and hapū (clans or descent groups). Our Tangata Tiriti caucus is also diverse and includes Pasifika, Asian and Pākehā members. That is a lot of world views at the decision-making table! It is not always easy. One of the challenges Tangata Tiriti face is not appropriating Indigeneity or aspects of Indigenous practices and cultures. At the same time, Tangata Tiriti need to step back, listen and make space for and privilege Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge). Indigenous knowledge is not something to take, but when offered in the spirit of partnership, it can inform and help ethically position efforts that support Māori self-determination and wellbeing for all. Being a better treaty partner is not about wallowing in shame and guilt or about assigning blame. It’s about listening, knowing your lane and acknowledging this nation’s problematic past and present. Colonisation is problematic for us all. Decolonisation requires collective and courageous efforts. This Waitangi Day, let us reflect on our responsibilities as Tangata Tiriti and what small steps we might take to be a better treaty partner.
10 actions Tangata Tiriti can take to be a better treaty partner in Aotearoa:
Read the short, affordable and incredible book Imagining Decolonisation. Then read it again. Then buy it for all your friends!
Learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand). There are so many resources out there, many of which are free! The graphic novel Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi by Toby Morris offers a great introduction.
Make an effort to pronounce Māori words properly, even when it’s hard. If you feel embarrassed, reflect on why that is. The audio button on the Te Aka Māori Dictionary app is awesome.
Check out some great examples of how community organisations are engaging with the treaty here, book a treaty workshop for your team or join an anti-racism group online.
Speak up when you hear racism. Some ideas for things you might say are on pages 127-31 of Imagining Decolonisation (see idea 1!)
Explore the history of your ancestors and where you are from. I guarantee it will be interesting and will give you more confidence when introducing who you are, participating in whakawhanaungatanga (Māori process of establishing relationships) and how you came to be living in Aotearoa.
Understand the history of land theft, colonisation and Māori resistance. What is the history and context of the places you live, work and play? Who are Mana Whenua (the Māori land right holders)? Where are the local marae (Māori meeting place)?
Learn a te reo Māori karakia or whakatauki (prayer or proverb). What does it mean to you? How does it make you feel? How and when would you appropriately share it and why?
Act in solidarity with #LandBack campaigns. Social media can be a great start, so is talking with your friends, listening to different perspectives, and thinking about how you could apply your skills to affirm and resource campaigns.
Pop a few posters up in your tea room at work or in your local library. Find some here.
[1] Where Māori words are used, the English translation that most reflects my understanding in the context of this blog has been used. I have referred to ‘Te Tiriti o Waitangi’ (and sometimes Te Tiriti) rather than ‘The Treaty of Waitangi’. ‘Te Tiriti o Waitangi’ refers to the te reo Māori version of the Treaty. For more information see: https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/treaty-of-waitangi/meaning-of-the-treaty