A place to stand
One hundred and forty four years of waiting by the Maori people were almost rewarded this year at Waitangi. However security precautions ruled out what could have been an historic meeting between representatives of the signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi.
By now the unsuccessful meeting between the Governor General and Te Hikoi ki Waitangi is past news, but the issues behind should not be lost.
Under the umbrella of the Kotahitanga movement, Te Hikoi ki Waitangi set out to gather tribal unity in order to discuss the reality of the treaty. By focusing on a hikoi to the Waitangi Treaty grounds, tribes were forced to take a stand as regards the treaty.
The presence of tribal groups on the hikoi does not mean that all maoridom is dissatisfied with the way the treaty has been interpreted by successive governments. But it does suggest the mood of maoridom has been aroused.
Just as this arousal is making its presence felt in the business world through Maori International, the awareness is an indication that some historical assumptions made about this country need examining and changing if we are to move to a multi-cultural society.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TUTANG19840301.2.42
Bibliographic details
Tu Tangata, Issue 16, 1 March 1984, Page 29
Word Count
197A place to stand Tu Tangata, Issue 16, 1 March 1984, Page 29
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