History Lesson: Treaty of Waitangi

No new/exciting adventutres to report so I figured I'd tell you about some important history regarding New Zealand:

Last week I went to a conference day about the Treaty of Waitangi, it was lead by a Maori woman. Basically the treaty was a doument signed between the Maori people and the British explorers/settlers agreeing to reach a compromise over the land, culture and spirituality of New Zealand. Signed on February 6th, 1840, in the Bay of Islands region (the place of my last roadtrip, toward the northern tip of New Zealand.) Commonly seen as the founding document of New Zealand, it has 2 versions, both of which are legal; an Enlish one, and a Maori one. These were signed by British Governers, and all the Maori tribe cheifs present (approx 40) and then taken around the country for the rest to sign (540 in all!).

There are 3 main clauses within the Treaty of Waitangi:

English version grants the Queen of the United Kingdom (Victoria at the time) sovereignty over New Zealand. The second article guarantees to the chiefs full "exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties." It also specifies that Māori will sell land only to the Crown. The third article guarantees to all Māori the same rights as all other British "subjects".

But the Māori translation has an extra clause regarding the Spirituality and Culture of both sets of people. As well the Māori used some different words suggesting a different understanding of this agreement with the British goverment....

The first main difference being the use of the word sovereignty; The Māori translated this word as kāwanatanga which at the time was likely to mean authority or prestige, and felt they were sharing this role not giving up their rights.
In the second article they use the words "taonga" meaning treasures or precious things, which in Maori could be used to describe a broad selection of things not just physical possessions but traditions and language. There is also the word "tino rangatiratanga" or chieftainship. The Maori version promises much broader rights for Maori in regard to possession of their existing ‘taonga’ (treasures). The English version gives Maori control over their lands, forests, fisheries, and other properties. But the Maori version, with its use of the word ‘taonga’, implies possession and protection of things such as language and culture. The third Article promises Maori the rights of all British subjects, while protecting traditional and customary rights.


This day I spent at this "study day" was interesting, I learned a lot about the history of New Zealand and it's policies around the Maori people. It's interesting that there is a lot of the same issues between the goverment here and in Canada with our own First Nations People. When I went to a historical museum when I first arrived I was quite surprised at the artifacts that are shown belonging to the Maori, it was so similar to things you would see in Canada. All the tools and spears and such made out of similar objects and resemeble those from Canada. It's intersting that these people could all live so far apart but humans from all over the world have created the same basic tools.

The woman that was the leader for the day is a Maori midwife, she is hoping someday that the govement in NZ will make a commitment to the Maori people the way the Canadian goverment has. I think that is interesting too, as in Canada, it seems as though we are just begining.

Anyway that's your history lesson for the day!
Happy Canada Day Everyone!