PILBARA TO COMMEMORATE MAORI TREATY ANNIVERSARY

Waitangi Day Commemoration in 2009. Credit: Daniel Pietzsch.

Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand marking the anniversary of the initial signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation.

This Saturday on Yinhawangka ngurra the Paraburdoo Maori Culture Club is hosting a Waitangi Day event at the Paraburdoo Ashburton Hall at 11 am.

President of the Paraburdoo Māori Culture Club, Tapapa Lewis spoke with Eliza Kloser about the anniversary and what the day means.

“To me, it means a day where we as Māori people can express ourselves through food, through Kapa haka, art, instruments, just expressing and sharing what we consider as Maori in New Zealand, but obviously there is more to it,” he said.

“It does highlight the day that the treaty of Waitangi was signed and it wasn’t signed by all chiefs in New Zealand, so there is a bit of controversy depending on which side of New Zealand you were on, some people celebrate Waitangi day and some people don’t.”

The commemoration has also been the focus of protest by Māori activists because the English and Māori translations of the Treaty were different.

Mr Lewis said the Māori chiefs who signed the Treaty believed from the Māori translation that they would have an equal partnership with the British.

“The majority of chiefs in New Zealand thought that [signing the treaty] would be a positive step forward, to help with trade and other things like that,” he said.

“When the treaty was interpreted, on one side, the Maori believed that they were signing over guardianship, or kaitiaki, which was like a caregivers fo the land, but the English interpretation was ownership, and just in that small detail, those are the building blocks of where Europeans started to take over some of the land.”

Listen to the interview to hear more.