This week the conversation around honouring Te Tiriti heated up with David Seymour and Winston Peters both hitting out against Te Tiriti based polices. But, is their rhetoric missing the point?
Great piece and yes, I think you are correct to be concerned. However, I struggle with calling all Pākehā and Tau Iwi of Aotearoa tangata Tiriti. For me, to be tangata Tiriti is to be one who acknowledges that the place of Pākehā in Aotearoa is through Te Tiriti and to be one who is actively trying to see Te Tiriti and its principles permeate all levels of society. A person who is tangata Tiriti actively seeks to see Māori, as tangata whenua, restored to their true position as the first peoples of Aotearoa and for true partnership to occur. Anything other than that is a continued perpetuation of the subjugation of Māori and the continued colonisation of Aotearoa.
Great piece and yes, I think you are correct to be concerned. However, I struggle with calling all Pākehā and Tau Iwi of Aotearoa tangata Tiriti. For me, to be tangata Tiriti is to be one who acknowledges that the place of Pākehā in Aotearoa is through Te Tiriti and to be one who is actively trying to see Te Tiriti and its principles permeate all levels of society. A person who is tangata Tiriti actively seeks to see Māori, as tangata whenua, restored to their true position as the first peoples of Aotearoa and for true partnership to occur. Anything other than that is a continued perpetuation of the subjugation of Māori and the continued colonisation of Aotearoa.
Oh I tend to agree, I gues on this piece I was reflecting on myself and my whānau's role in this story. Hench the use of that language ;)