When many people think of Aotearoa New Zealand, there are a few iconic things that usually come to mind: All Blacks, the Haka and a Hāngī.

Today, Māori culture and language are celebrated and embraced by those living in Aotearoa and abroad.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Almost two hundred years ago, Aotearoa’s renowned Te Tiriti O Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi was signed — a formal agreement between Māori Chiefs and the British Crown that sought to bring together two cultures, two different worlds.

When you look back through history from a Māori lens, many people like Kelvin Davis — Minister for Māori Crown Relations — say the agreement was abandoned for a long time.

“The ink hadn’t even dried on the treaty in 1840 and the government of the time and for probably a hundred and sixty years after just ignored what it said,” Minister Davis said.

Land was confiscated under the New Zealand Settlements Act, Te Reo Māori was forbidden to be spoken and bloodshed and protests continued.

So how did these events happen when there was a treaty in place?

Two texts, one stark difference

In the fine print of the Treaty of Waitangi there is a glaring difference between translations that is still debated today.

Back in 1840, the treaty was drafted and translated in two languages: Te Reo Māori and English and discussed with a large crowd of Māori chiefs, settlers, traders, and missionaries.

Many chiefs couldn’t speak English, read, or write but they were there to assert their sovereignty over the land — echoing the same message of the chiefs who signed a statement five years earlier called the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand.

For hours the agreement was debated, with many Māori chiefs raising concerns of their land being taken and sceptical of how authority, land ownership, and trade dealings would work.

After much consideration and the influence of a few prominent Māori chiefs, the treaty was signed on February 6, 1840.

Not everyone supported the agreement or had the opportunity to sign — and despite this, three months later Captain William Hobson, New Zealand’s first governor declared sovereignty over Aotearoa.

Since that historical day, the origins and understanding of article one in the treaty remains a pain point for many New Zealanders today.

In the English text, the treaty states:

“The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty…”

But the Te Reo Māori text says:

“The Chiefs of the Confederation and all the Chiefs who have not joined that Confederation give absolutely to the Queen of England for ever the complete government over their land.”

Dr Carwyn Jones, lead academic at Māori university Te Wananga O Raukawa says Māori never ceded sovereignty to the Crown.

“The English text talks about sovereignty being ceded to the British crown but in the Māori text, it talks about this idea of ‘kawanatanga’, so this function of government,” he explains.

For years the Treaty of Waitangi wasn’t taken seriously by government officials and judges. The abandonment of the treaty gave birth to what Minister Davis describes as a cultural ‘renaissance’.

“Māori started to say honour the treaty,” he said.

“Through the hard work of people who are labelled protesters and agitators, we started to see positive change for Māori.”

Honouring the Treaty

Often described as a court, the Waitangi Tribunal has created principles around the treaty to help assess alleged breaches of the treaty around current issues, like government legislations or policies.

Dr Jones says the tribunal plays an important role in honouring the treaty today.

“The Waitangi Tribunal is an independent body determining whether the Crown has lived up to its treaty obligations or not and I think that kind of monitoring body is really important,” Dr Jones says.

“It has acted as a truth telling body, and so people often talk about it as having a truth and reconciliation function.”

Similar to a court hearing, the Tribunal will hear evidence from both sides — Māori and the Crown — and makes recommendations to the New Zealand government through a report.

But Dr Jones says their recommendations aren’t usually legally binding.

“Government can, for the most part, choose to either accept or to ignore them,” he said.

Despite this, the Tribunal’s advice has led to progress and reparations for many Māori people.

“One good example is language,” Dr Jones said.

“The tribunal heard a claim in the 1980s about Māori language and the Crown’s responsibility [to protect it]. They recommended it become an official language of New Zealand and a commission be established.”

“Both things happened and have had quite an impact in the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori,” he said.

Voice for Māori

Inside a sacred Marae located in the southern suburb of Papakura, a Waitangi Tribunal hearing is taking place.

One of the key witnesses presenting evidence to the tribunal is lawyer and disability advocate Dr Huhana Hickey. She says the health system has failed Māori people living with a disability.

“33 per cent of Māori are disabled but by the time they reach the age of 40, [and] 69 per cent of Māori have a disability,” she said.

“Most of that comes from poverty, living low wage jobs where the labouring work, wears your body out earlier … that’s 69 per cent higher than any other demographic in the country.”

Dr Hickey says the Treaty and the Waitangi Tribunal play an important role ensuring Māori voices are guiding decisions and policies that affect them.

“The treaty actually gives me my rights as a Māori woman to be able to exercise and live in my cultural world as much as being a part of Aotearoa in a larger sense,” she says.

In the lead up to the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia, there has been a lot of discussion around treaty making with First Nations people.

When asked what his thoughts were if Australia was to embark on a treaty, Minister Kelvin Davis responded by saying ‘it’s a unifying moment’.

“The amazing thing for Australia is that this is your moment… but I think you have to get it right because this is the foundation for your country, for years to come,” he said.