Te Tiriti o Waitangi: 6 Huitanguru 2024

Te Tiriti books

Kia Tūpato: let’s begin this kōrero (in somewhat turbulent times) with a waiata from Morvin Simon:

And as we pause — kia maumaharatia anō Te Tiriti o Waitangi, me hora te aroha engari anō te rirhau, spread love not anger — ngā kupu mōhio nō ō tātou rangatira:

Here are some resources for Te Rā o Waitangi, gathered from ngā hau e whā…

Continue reading “Te Tiriti o Waitangi: 6 Huitanguru 2024”

Bridget Williams Books: The Treaty of Waitangi Collection

A selection of book covers from the Bridget Williams Books Treaty of Waitangi Collection

Log in to Bridget Williams Books Treaty of Waitangi resources with your library card

Did you know that your library card gives you access to numerous collections from the award-winning New Zealand publisher Bridget Williams Books? Today we’d like to draw your attention to their outstanding home for online resources regarding the Treaty of Waitangi.

Bridget Williams Books’ Treaty of Waitangi Collection is broken up into different subtopics to assist your learning journey. You might like to start with one of their foundation texts, such as What Happened at Waitangi? by Claudia Orange. Following on from there, you could dive into BWB’s history resources to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context in which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. One useful text for this might be Redemption Songs by Judith Binney. After that, BWB has also provided a commentary selection, which includes publications such as New Myths and Old Politics: The Waitangi Tribunal and the Challenge of Tradition by Sir Tipene O’Regan. 

To access this Bridget Williams Books collection, simply head over to our eLibrary resources and scroll down to find Bridget Williams Books. Follow that link to access the collection. You will need your library card number and your pin to login. Happy reading!

Te Tiriti o Waitangi – 6th February events

Books about the Treaty, superimposed over the harbourHere in Wellington we’re far away from Waitangi where the official Waitangi Day commemorations happen every year. But did you know that we’re lucky enough to be able to visit the Treaty itself locally at the He Tohu exhibition at the National Library?

He Tohu is a permanent exhibition of three Aotearoa New Zealand constitutional documents, and preserves these powerful taonga for future generations. The three documents are:

  • He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (1835)
    Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand
  • Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840)
    Treaty of Waitangi
  • The Women’s Suffrage Petition (1893)
    Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine

On Waitangi Day this year you can visit the National Library for a 30-minute guided tour exploring this multi-award winning exhibition. Tours begin on the hour and half hour between 10am and 4pm, and there’s much more happening besides.

As part of the commemorations, our own He Matapihi Library (housed on-site at the National Library), will be open for the day for browsing, and will have two arts and crafts sessions open for children and their families:

  • Weaving: 10:30-11:15am
  • DIY Māori Treasure Box: 1:30-2:15 pm

Please note: He Matapihi will be the only Wellington City Libraries branch open on Waitangi Day — all other branches will be closed for the public holiday.

The National Library have a full day of activities planned so there will be lots more to see and do, including:

  • Arts and crafts activities for the whole whānau
  • Historical footage of Waitangi Day commemorations curated by Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision
  • Te reo Māori pronounciation and waiata workshops
  • View an installation of four giant banners featuring Treaty signatories, including local rangatira Te Wharepōuri

Waitangi Day 2023 at the National Library

Don’t forget you can find more information about Waitangi Day events happening across the city on the Wellington City Council website.

Browse our collection below:

The Treaty of Waitangi / Calman, Ross
“The best basic introduction to the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document; it summarizes the history of the Treaty and race relations in New Zealand/ Aotearoa How well do any of us know what the Treaty document means? In this easy-to-follow book, Ross Calman looks at what New Zealand was like before the Treaty and how this important document has effected the way we live now.” (Catalogue)

The Treaty of Waitangi / Orange, Claudia
“Today the Treaty has come to signify what both joins and divides the people of this country. It had different meanings also to those present at the 1840 signing -the new arrivals and the tangatawhenuathen occupying the land. To the British, it was the means by which they gained sovereignty over the country; for Maori, it represented something closer to partnership. That these distinct meanings were conveyed in texts written in different languages only added to the complexities now woven around this crucial agreement.Claudia Orange’s remarkable history was first published in 1987. ” (Catalogue)

Treaty of Waitangi : questions and answers
” Covering many historical and contemporary issues, it is for people who want to gain a basic knowledge about the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications, as well as for those who want to refresh and update their understanding. It includes a summary of legislation and events since 1840 which have breached the Treaty, and a comprehensive reading list for further information. ” (Catalogue)

Treaty of Waitangi settlements
“The settlement of iwi claims under the Treaty of Waitangi has been a prominent feature of New Zealand’s political landscape over the last thirty years. In this timely book, leading scholars offer the first analysis of the economic and social impact of the settlement process.” (Catalogue)

Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Morris, Toby
“Ground-breaking full-colour graphic novel about Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi. Accessible, engaging, image-rich design. Dual-language flip book with Maori and Pakeha authors Ross Calman and Mark Derby. Text in te reo Maori version developed by Maori Language Commission-registered translator Piripi Walker. Reviewed by some of Aotearoas foremost Te Tiriti o Waitangi experts to reflect current scholarship. Includes a link to both versions of the treaty translated into thirty other languages and New Zealand Sign Language.” (Catalogue)

Treaty to Treaty : a history of early New Zealand from the Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 to the Treaty of Waitangi 1840 / Bennett, R. S.
“This book is a large & detailed history of early NZ and includes events elsewhere in the world that have had an effect on this country. The size of this project and the author’s wish to bring to the fore interesting and important material not covered in other historical work has necessitated the production of three volumes rather than the one as originally intended. Volume One contains essays on background topics.” (Catalogue)

Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Wai 262 Claim

Over 3000 claims have been made to the Waitangi Tribunal during its first 40 years of existence.

Having worked on historical district enquiries, the Tribunal now endeavours to complete the kaupapa enquiries — which cover issues of national significance. Wai 262 claim is a kaupapa inquiry — often referred to as the Flora and Fauna claim.

A report was issued in 2011 for the claim, brought by six iwi, but there is a continuing feeling of dissatisfaction with that report as unfinished business. All six original iwi representatives are now deceased. The breadth of the claim is immense:

The report encompassed the issues of taonga works and intellectual property (trademarks and copyright); taonga species and intellectual property (patents and plant variety rights); management of the environment generally (the Resource Management Act) and the conservation estate specifically (the Department of Conservation); te reo Māori (including tribal dialects); rongoā Māori; the negotiation of international agreements; and the Crown’s control or funding of mātauranga Māori across archives, libraries, museums, the regime governing protected objects, education, the arts.

He Manutukutuku is a commemorative issue for the 40th anniversary of the Waitangi Tribunal. Paul Hamer, p. 56, describes the Wai 262 claim:

Wai 262 is also regarded as the Tribunal’s first ever whole-of-government inquiry, in that it scrutinised the policies and performance of 20 government departments and agencies.

The original claimants: (representing Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Ngāti Koata) were profiled at the Wai 262 Online Symposium, Waipapa Marae on 19 July 2021. Intro-Speaker presentations from the Wai 262 online symposium and speaker Maui Solomon’s presentation can be viewed online.

You can also watch the full length film Wai 262 online (via NZ On Screen).

Ko Aotearoa tēnei : te taumata tuarua : a report into claims concerning New Zealand law and policy affecting Māori culture and identity. / New Zealand.

“This version is the full 2-volume report and addresses the Wai 262 claim concerning New Zealand law and policy affecting Maori culture and identity. Te Taumata Tuarua describes the claim in depth and gives the Waitangi Tribunals findings and recommendations concerning intellectual property in ‘taonga works’ created by weavers, carvers, writers, musicians, artists, and others; Maori interests in the genetic and biological resources in indigenous flora and fauna, which are the subject of increasing scientific and commercial interest; Maori involvement in decision-making on resource management and conservation; Crown support for te reo Maori, the Maori language; Crown control of matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge and ways of knowing) in arts, culture, heritage, broadcasting, education, and science; rongoa Maori or traditional healing; and Maori input into New Zealand’s positions on international instruments.” (Description from Fishpond)

Te Anamata o Te Tiriti me Tākuta Carwyn Jones: 29 o Paengawhāwhā i Te Whare Pukapuka o Te Awe

He aha? Te Tiriti: ki hea ināianei?
Āhea? Rāpare 29 o Paengawhāwhā, 12:30-1:20pm
Ki hea? Te Whare Pukapuka o Te Awe (29B Tiriti o Brandon)

I runga anō i ngā tohutohu a Māmari Stephens i roto i tana tuhinga “He rangi tā Matawhāiti, he rangi tā Matawhānui”, kāore e tawhiti atu te whakanuitanga 200 tau o waitohutanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Engari ka pēhea ianei te āhua o Aotearoa hei ngā 20 tau e tū mai nei? Ā, ka whakawā pēhea nei ngā tumu kōrero i te tau 2040 i ngā whanaketanga o ngā tekau tau ruarua ka hipa?

Ko tētahi tangata e taea ana pea e ia te whakautu i ēnei pātai ko Tākuta Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu). He Ahorangi Tāpiri a Tākuta Jones i Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture i Te Whare Wānanga o Te Herenga Waka, ā, ko ia hoki te kaituhi o New Treaty, New Tradition – Reconciling New Zealand and Māori Law and co-editor of Indigenous Peoples and the State: International Perspectives on the Treaty of Watangi. Ko ia hoki te perēhitini-ngātahi o Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa, me te ētita-ngātahi o te Māori Law Review me AlterNative – an International Journal of Indigenous Peoples.

E whai wāhi ana hoki a Tākuta Jones ki tētahi atu kaupapa whakahirahira. E rua marama ki muri ka hono atu ia ki te ohu Adaptive Governance me te Policy i te BioHeritage Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho, hei kaihautū-ngātahi me Tākuta Maria Bargh. He tūranga whakahirahira tēnei: ki te whakatau me pēhea e taea ai e ngā panonitanga ki te kāwanatanga me te ture i Aotearoa te āwhina ki te whakaora i te taiao o te motu – i mua o te hokinga kore ki muri.

Ki te rapu i ētahi atu kōrero, pānuitia tā mātou uiui ki a Tākuta Carwyn Jones i raro!


E kōrero ana te pae tukutuku a te Adaptive Governance me te Policy (AGP) mō tētahi mataaho āheinga e whakaratoa ana e te whanaketanga o tētahi Rautaki Koiora ā-motu, tae atu hoki ki te WAI 262.  Ka taea e koe te whakamārama i te hiranga nui o WAI 262 me te Rautaki Koiora?

E whakarato ana te Rautaki Koiora i tētahi anga whakahaere matua mō te whanake i ngā mahere koiora ā-takiwā, ā-rohe hoki puta noa i ngā tau 30 e tū mai nei i Aotearoa.  E whakarato ana hoki i tētahi moemoeā whaitake me te whakarite i tētahi māramatanga whānui o te wāhi hei whāinga mā tātou hei iwi, ki te tiaki me te hiki i te koioratanga.

Ko te pūrongo WAI 262, Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, me te urutau a te kāwanatanga whānui e whanake mai ana, e whakatau haere ana hoki i ēnei momo take (me ētahi atu), me te arotahi atu ki te whakaurunga a te Māori me te tūranga o te mātauranga Māori.  Ka whakauru hāngai tonu te Rautaki Koiora me Wai 262 ki ngā pātai o te kāwanatanga taiao me te kaupapa here e pā ana ki te tuku ihotanga koiora o Aotearoa.

Me pēhea a Te Mana o te Taiao – te Rautaki Koiora o Aotearoa e whai whakaaro ai ki te pūrongo WAI 262 a Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi?

Ko tētahi o ngā āhuatanga matua o te pūrongo WAI 262 ko te miramira i ngā hapori Māori tae atu ki ngā iwi, hapū me ngā whānau, me tā rātou mahi ki te whakatakoto i ō rātou wawata mō te whakahaere i te hononga a te tangata ki te taiao, me te whai i ngā tikanga pūataata e haepapa ai ngā kāwanatanga ā-rohe, kāwanatanga matua hoki ki te whakauru atu ki aua wawata.  E āta mohimohi ana te pūrongo ki te kī ko tā te whāinga ā-Tiriti me rapu ki te whakamana i ngā hapori Māori i te tuatahi ki te whakatau take ka pāpā atu ki ō rātou taonga (tae atu ki ngā āhuatanga o te taiao), ā, i ngā wāhi e hiahiatia ana ētahi tauira whakahoa, me whakauru te Māori ki ngā whakataunga take, kaua ko te tū hei kaitohutohu anake i te kaiwhakatau.  Ko tētahi o ngā putanga whaikī o Te Mana o te Taiao, ko te whakatinanatanga e ngā hoa Tiriti, whānau, hapū me ngā iwi ngā tūranga matua hei kaitiaki.

Ko tētahi atu mahi o nāianei a te AGP ko te whanake-ngātahi i ngā tikanga ā-ture e “whai reo ai te taiao”.  He aha ētahi whai wāhitanga?

Ko ētahi o ngā momo tauira ka whai wāhi pea i konei ko ngā mea pēnei i te whakamana i te whakatangata ā-ture ake o ngā āhuatanga horanuku, pērā i tērā i kitea ake mō Te Urewera (he papa ā-motu i mua) me Te Awa Tupua ( ko te awa o Whanganui i mua).

He whai tikanga nui te whakaaro o ngā tauira kāwanatanga rerekē.  He tauira āu e hoahoa-ngātahitia ana e koe i tēnei wā, ā, kua whakamātauria?

He whānui tonu ngā āhuatanga e whai wāhi atu ana ki ngā tauira kāwanatanga rerekē.  E tūhuratia ana e mātou ngā whakaaro mai i Te Ao Māori mō te whakarite i ngā hononga ki te tangata, ina koa, a te tangata ki te taiao.  E whai ana mātou ki te arotake i ētahi o ngā tauira o nāianei mō te kāwanatanga-ngātahi kua whanaketia mā te tukanga whakatau take Tiriti me ētahi atu horopaki, ā, kua whakaritea e mātou tētahi pūrongo o ngā taputapu pūtea kua hoahoatia hei tautoko i te koioratanga me te whakapoapoa i ētahi tauira rerekē o te kāwanatanga.

He aha ō matapae mō te whakatinanatanga o ēnei tauira kāwanatanga i te anamata?

Me āta aro te whakatinanatanga ki te horopaki ā-takiwā, te taiao ā-takiwā, me ngā hononga ā-takiwā.  Ko tētahi āhuatanga ka whaitake nui pea i roto i te whakatinanatanga ko te whakamana i ngā hapori ā-takiwā ki te whakatinana i tā rātou tūranga hei kaitiaki.

I a tātou e titiro ana ki ētahi tauira kāwanatanga rerekē me ngā tikanga ā-ture mō Aotearoa, tērā anō ētahi tauira o tāwāhi e pīata mai ana, e whai take ana?

Ehara i te mea kei Aotearoa anake ēnei take, nō reira he nui ngā mahi puta noa i te ao e whakauru atu ana ki tēnei tūmomo wāhi ōrite.  I Aotearoa nei, kua waia tātou ki te whakapūnga o ngā whakaritenga mana tūmatawhānui, engari i ngā pūnaha kotahitanga  pēnei i Amerika, Kanata, ā, tae atu pea ki Ahitereiria, e hāneanea ana ki a rātou te whakaaro o ngā ao rerekē o te mana whakahare me te horahora i ngā whakataunga take.  Nā tēnei ka hua mai pea ētahi wāhi mō ngā tauira kanorau, kāwanatanga ā-takiwā hoki.

Ki ōu whakaako ka pēhea te whai o ēnei tauira me ēnei kaupapa here i ngā raru nui pēnei i te urutā KOWHEORI-19 o te wā nei?

Ka urutau pai pea ki te kanorau o ngā matea ka hua mai i tēnei momo raru nui.  I te mea hoki ki te whakamanahia ngā hapori ā-takiwā, ka whai rātou i ngā mahi e hāngai ana ki ō rātou āhuatanga ake, te tiaki i ngā tāngata – arā i kitea tēnei i ngā wāhi arowhai ā-hapori i whakaritea e ētahi rōpū Māori, ā-iwi hoki, ā, i whakahaeretia i te wā e taumaha ana te urutā i Aotearoa.

The Future of Te Tiriti with Dr Carwyn Jones: 29 April at Te Awe Library

What? Te Tiriti: Where to Now?
When? Thursday 29 April, 12:30-1:20pm
Where? Te Awe Library (29B Brandon Street)

As Māmari Stephens points out in her essay “He rangi tā Matawhāiti, he rangi tā Matawhānui”, the 200th anniversary of the signing of te Tiriti o Waitangi isn’t far off. But what will Aotearoa look like 20 years from now? And how will historians in 2040 judge the developments of the past few decades?

One person who may be able to answer these questions is Dr Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu). Dr Jones is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at Victoria University and the author of New Treaty, New Tradition – Reconciling New Zealand and Māori Law and co-editor of Indigenous Peoples and the State: International Perspectives on the Treaty of Watangi. He’s also co-president of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa – The Māori Law Society and co-Editor of the Māori Law Review and AlterNative – an International Journal of Indigenous Peoples.

Dr Jones is involved in another significant project as well. Just over two months ago he joined the Adaptive Governance and Policy team at the BioHeritage Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho as co-lead with Dr Maria Bargh. The role is a significant one: to work out how changes to governance and law in New Zealand can help save the country’s environment – before it’s too late.

To find out more, read our interview with Dr Carwyn Jones below!


The Adaptive Governance and Policy (AGP) website mentions a window of opportunity provided by the development of the national Biodiversity Strategy, as well as WAI 262. Could you explain the importance of WAI 262 and the Biodiversity Strategy?

The Biodiversity Strategy provides a key organising framework for developing local and regional biodiversity plans across the next 30 years in Aotearoa. It provides an important vision and ensures that there is a common understanding of where we as a country need to get to in order to protect and enhance biodiversity.

The WAI 262 report, Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, and the whole of government response that is developing, also addresses similar kinds of issues (amongst many others), with a particular focus on Māori participation and the role of mātauranga Māori. The Biodiversity Strategy and WAI 262 both engage directly with questions of environmental governance and policy relating to New Zealand biological heritage.

How could Te Mana o te Taiao – Aotearoa NZ Biodiversity Strategy take the Waitangi Tribunal’s WAI 262 report into account?

One of the central features of the WAI 262 report is the emphasis on Māori communities, including iwi, hapū, and whanau, being able to proactively set out their aspirations for managing the relationship between people and the environment and having transparent mechanisms to ensure that central and local government are accountable for engaging with those aspirations. The report is careful to note that a Tiriti-consistent approach should first seek to empower Māori communities to make decisions that affect their taonga (including aspects of the natural environment) and that where partnership models are required, these must involve Māori participation in decision-making, not merely acting in an advisory capacity to the decision-maker. One of the stated outcomes of Te Mana o te Taiao is that Treaty partners, whānau, hapū, and iwi are exercising their full roles as kaitiaki.

Another current AGP activity is the co-development of legal mechanisms that “give voice to nature”. What would this include?

Some of the kinds of models that might be included here could be things like the recognition of legal personality of landscape features as we have seen with Te Urewera (formerly a national park) and Te Awa Tupua (formerly the Whanganui river).

The idea of alternative governance models is also really interesting. Are there any you’re co-designing at the moment, and have they been scenario tested yet?

There are a whole range of things that contribute to alternative governance models. We’re exploring ideas from Te Ao Māori about organising relationships between people and, particularly, between people and the environment. We’re aiming to evaluate some of the existing models of co-governance that have been developed through the Treaty settlement process and other contexts, and we commissioned a report on financial instruments that are designed to support biodiversity and incentivise different modes of governance.

How do you see these governance models being implemented in the future?

The implementation needs to be sensitive to local context, the local environment, and local relationships. One aspect that is likely to be important in implementation is to empower local communities to exercise their role as kaitiaki.

When looking at different governance models and legal mechanisms for Aotearoa, are there overseas examples that have stood out as potentially useful?

Of course, these issues are not unique to Aotearoa and so there is a lot of work going on around the world that is engaging in this same kind of space. New Zealand tends to have quite a centralised understanding of the organisation of public power, whereas in federal systems such as the USA, Canada, and to some extent even Australia, there is more comfort with the idea of different spheres of authority and diffuse decision-making. That can sometimes create space for diverse and localised governance models.

How do you think these models and policies would approach crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic?

Likely to respond well to the diversity of need that this kind of crisis creates. Generally, if local communities are empowered, they will take steps, appropriate to their local circumstances, to keep people safe – as we saw with some of the community checkpoints that a number of Māori and iwi-based groups established and managed through the height of the pandemic in Aotearoa.