Disputes about the meaning of the treaty.

Two of the issues of the treaty that was addressed in this lecture was the dictation of the Pākehā and how it has warped how todays community has addressed and learned about our history and also the blatant racism from the crown that came after the treaty was signed and the drastic affect it’s had on the indigenous people of New Zealand.

These were surprising to me as I have been a Pākehā who has been sheltered from the racism presented in the treaty and it’s reflection on modern day society, from neglection in the education system and my whanau’s background presenting an ill-informed mind set to the treaty I genuinely had no realisation of background white-supremisy in Aoteatoa. This is especially highlighted in the text on pages 3 and 5 where prof. Margaret Mutu writes about the british attitudes towards race and claims, and european civilisation jusitfied stealing land from the indigenous people of Aotearoa by saying their religious, uncivilised and coloured society made them superior and gave them the right to determine another races laws and sociatile manner. And on page 5 she continues with the back up of how māori culture is met with violence, and also with dismissal of integrity. This still carries through today with the treaty claims and how we respond to Māori culture (i.e teaching Te Reo Māori in schools, the hāka, ect.). While things are now being openly discussed – an important step for change and equality- there is still a long way to go in the way we identify and accept our national culture of Māori people.

Another thing that surprised me was how greatly the māori have suffered in terms of government, economical and social support, due to the misinformation and racist views of pākehā.

statistics from the census, Professor Margaret Mutu, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu and the University of Auckland , page 7.

Black and white facts of lower school qualifications, population of Te Reo Māori speakers, incredibly low income, high unemployemt rates, low life expectancy, high prison population, is thrown in your face and it shows how dire their experience with the government and social economy really has been. Colonisation and capitalism has plummeted their ability to grow as a culture and created the misdemeaner of poverty.

It’s helped me to see where Aotearoa’s society has failed our national culture and where we need to step up to bring us back to an equal society.