THE TREATY OF WAITANGI ÑOUR SACRED COVENANT
Robert Consedine
ÒThe Treaty of Waitangi is the Magna Carta of our people.Ó
-Sir James Henare, Waitangi, February 1987
The year 1990 was an extraordinary year in the history of Aotearoa/New Zealand. As a nation we commemorated the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The government of New Zealand spent NZ$30 million on various projects which marked this event. Much of the money was spent on propaganda trying to convince New Zealanders that we were all one people. On the 6th of February 1990, there was a major official function at Waitangi in the presence of representatives of Maoridom, representatives of the Crown, and Queen Elizabeth II.
This event was strongly disrupted by a large number of Maori protesters with some Pakeha support. The official Maori speakers accused the Crown publicly of marginalising Maori people, of shutting them out of the system. Once again in the presence of a large media, the public of New Zealand became aware that the Treaty which had been signed 150 years earlier, and the promises which had been made, had not been kept by the Crown.
PRE (1840) TREATY HISTORY
How did we arrive at this point? Before the treaty was signed in 1840, Maori people had been living tribally in Aotearoa/New Zealand for more than 1,000 years. Over that time, they had functioned where each tribe had its own sovereignty and the tikanga of each tribe varied in terms of the way they dealt with issues of justice, land, health, education, all of which was transmitted through a very sophisticated oral system.
The first Europeans to roam the shores of Aotearoa/New Zealand were whalers and sealers in the late 1700s, who interacted with Maori and came and went as needed. Relationships with Maori were adequate as, in order to stay here they needed a certain level of protection from the tribes. The next significant group to come were missionaries Ñ Church of England who arrived from 1814 along with all their cultural baggage and Christian idealism. They engaged in usual missionary activities; building churches, schools (where teaching was delivered in the Maori language), variously involved in questionable land deals, trading in muskets, peacemaking amongst tribes and, in particular, the writing of the Maori language for the first time.
By the 1830s, a mix of Europeans began to arrive. Some were traders who wanted to do business with Maori, others were settlers, escaped convicts from Australia or sea men jumping ship. By the end of the 1830s these numbered around 2,000.
At this point, Maori may have outnumbered Europeans by about 100 to one. New Zealand had three potential colonisers: Americans, French, and English. The French landed at different parts of New Zealand from early 1830s negotiating with Maori for land and by late 1830s had a definite plan for the colonisation of New Zealand. French settlers had settled in two or three different places. By the late 1830s a French treaty had been approved by the French cabinet.
For this and other reasons, a British resident, James Busby, was appointed in 1833. He extended the laws of New South Wales over New Zealand and took up the task of negotiating with Maori to set up what the British called a stable state. In 1834, Busby gave Maori a flag to trade internationally and facilitated a process where the northern chiefs formed what became known as the Confederation of United Tribes of New Zealand. Maori were interested in a more national form of government and, indeed, various chiefs had visited England in the previous 15-20 years.
In 1835, Maori created the Confederation of United Tribes of New Zealand and declared New Zealand to be an independent sovereign country with the support of Busby. Britain in response promised to protect Maori independence. From this moment on, the British referred to Maori as New Zealanders and regarded them as the sovereign authority in New Zealand. In 1839 the Colonial Office appointed Captain William Hobson to come to New Zealand and make a Treaty in relationship to British settlement.
In sending Hobson, the Colonial Office gave specific instructions that he was to make no Treaty which was not fully understood and that he was to obtain sovereignty only if Maori were willing to cede it. The instructions which Hobson received from the Colonial Office had many references to Maori sovereign authority over New Zealand.
TREATY OF WAITANGI
On the 29th January 1840, a gathering of Maori chiefs at Waitangi met with Captain Hobson, James Busby, and various missionaries to make a Treaty. Maori were very suspicious of British motives and initially rejected the idea of a Treaty outright. Finally, after considerable reassurance from the British representatives, English missionaries and much debate in the Maori community, the Treaty was signed by most of the chiefs present. Some went home without signing. The Treaty was originally drawn up in English and read out once publicly. It was then translated into Maori. In the event, we ended up with a Maori Treaty with 512 Maori signatures, and 39 chiefs signed an English text.
In the Maori Treaty, Maori gave British people the right to settle in New Zealand and participate in the formation of a settled form of civil government. Sovereignty was not ceded. In Article Two, Tino Rangatiratanga, the authority of the chiefs was guaranteed and in Article Three, Maori way of life was guaranteed as Maori were told they would have all the same rights as those of the people of England.
POST TREATY COLONISATION
After the signing of the Treaty, successive governors and parliaments (from which Maori were effectively excluded) completely disregarded the commitments made in the Treaty and passed a series of laws which, over time, made the Maori way of life systematically illegal. The key laws covered land, justice, health, education, and spirituality.
Over the last 150 years a series of laws have been passed which ÔlegalisedÕ the systematic theft of millions of hectares of land from Maori. A very effective Maori justice system was replaced by the British adversarial system. The Tohunga was outlawed and effectively eliminated Maori knowledge from the system.
All of these laws were in direct violation of the sacred promises made to Maori in the Treaty of Waitangi.
MAORI RESPONSES
Since the signing of the Treaty, there have been three major efforts for Maori to form their own parliament. The longest-running effort was from 1892 to 1902 and paralleled the settler parliament which refused to recognise and resource it. It became ineffective and discontinued after 10 years. By the 20th century, the policy of assimilation was deeply entrenched. Maori were being sent to Native schools and being taught manual skills, and the language had been successfully banned from all pakeha institutions.
In 1877, a significant ruling was made in the courts where the Treaty of Waitangi was declared to be a legal nullity. This remained in place until the Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975. It was this Act which began the contemporary awareness of the Treaty being brought back onto the front of the political agenda in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It was also this Act which set up the Waitangi Tribunal and in 1985 was given the authority to investigate claims against the Crown back to 1840.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
Although some claims have been settled for now, the Treaty continues to be minimalised by the New Zealand government who, over time, have created what have become known as the principles of the Treaty, all of which are based on the English Treaty. Although we now have a small amount of legislation that includes the principles of the Treaty, the actual articles of the Treaty continue to be avoided.
The courts, who right through our colonial history have collaborated with the colonisation process in the oppression of Maori people, continue to take a conservative view of the Treaty and have so far ruled that it is not a fundamental, constitutional document, although they have noted the potential for partnership and express the view that the Crown has a fiduciary duty to Maori.
The struggle of Maoridom right throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand has never ceased in the last 156 years. It takes various forms such as marches, occupying buildings, occupying land, petitions, taking opportunities on public occasions to challenge the Crown, continuous delegations to government and the constant restructuring of the Crown relationship to Maori as a response. Over time, governments have used economic power to keep Maori effectively divided. Those who collaborate with the Crown are always well rewarded.
In 1995 the Government announced a one billion dollar package to resolve all outstanding claims against the Crown by Maori. Many Maori described the proposal as an insult and the tribes rejected it unanimously. As usual, the Government failed to consult Maori adequately and Maori rejected outright what became know as The Fiscal Envelope. Despite the Maori rejection, the Government continued with its Fiscal Envelope policy.
The fact that the Treaty is back on the political agenda is due, primarily, to the continuous demand from Maori that the Treaty be honoured. Maori are continually making demands about the return of stolen land and language, and their activities have now become part of the political scene in New Zealand. The response from the government continues to be minimal. Although some claims have been settled, governments continue to ignore the central issue of the Treaty, which is Maori sovereign authority.
EDUCATION AND ACTION
Many pakeha and Maori are learning this history of New Zealand for the first time, as our colonial history has been systematically excluded from all sectors of the education system. The first major challenge is to educate all New Zealanders about what has really happened since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
If we are to begin to heal the pain of the last 150 years, we can begin by learning, understanding, and acknowledging fully the devastating effects of the colonisation process as a history of broken promises, theft, fraud and violence inflicted on Maori people.
At the Waitangi Day commemoration in 1987, respected kaumatua Sir James Henare called the Treaty Ôthe Magna Carta of our people.Õ For those who understand justice, it is a sacred covenant. Like the biblical covenants of history, it offers much to those who observe its tenets.
Lent is a time of metanoia Ñ a turning to God with an open heart, seeking forgiveness and healing for individual sins and the sins of the nation. The consistent violation of the Treaty is one such sin which has wrought devastating consequences to Maori that remain with them to this day. Preparing such damage requires a new outlook from the dominant culture starting with apology and recognition of the damage done, and followed by the better sharing of power and resources, and a commitment to an inclusive and just future for all. Christians could well consider the Lenten season to be a time to re-evaluate their own attitude to the Treaty and its social consequences. GodÕs justice demands no less.