KEY POINTS:
This Saturday, Tariana Turia's amazing walk from occupation to Parliament will culminate in the Maori Party harvesting all seven seats as Maori grasp their opportunity to forcefully shape the nation's future.
Hopefully we won't expend too much energy on whether to scrap or entrench the Maori seats but instead focus on solving the real challenge of nation building - and be more visionary in confronting the Treaty of Waitangi and our future constitutional arrangements.
We will not flourish as a small nation in the South Pacific unless we are one sovereign nation united in our desire to collectively deliver on our dreams and aspirations.
Just because some of us have had our ears and eyes closed - and others have had their heads in the sand - the challenge of the Treaty has not evaporated.
I also have news for the masses who think that once we have settled Treaty grievances and "given all our taxpayer money to those damn Maori" we can kick the Treaty to touch because "enough is enough".
"The Treaty ain't going nowhere," to quote my Poriruan bro.
There has been undeniable progress borne out of both conflict and co-operation. Following the incredible support for Don Brash after his "Orewa speech", many Maori came to the conclusion that they could not put their trust in "Pakeha" vehicles. Galvanised by the Foreshore and Seabed Hikoi on Parliament, the Maori Party was born.
Tariana Turia and her colleagues have conducted themselves with dignity while staying staunch to the cause. Not only have they championed the spirit of the Treaty and the aspirations of Maori, even Parliament now pays more than just mere lip service to te reo Maori as an official language.
The Maori Party now also realises that while hikoi and occupations have their place, you have to be on the Treasury benches to effect real policies.
Then there has been the major urgency by Michael Cullen to settling Treaty grievances - an impetus not seen since the Jim Bolger and Doug Graham days. Cullen's decisive and good-faith leadership role went a long way in inspiring Maori leaders to embrace the path to true economic freedom - a major prerequisite to dealing with disparities and degradation.
So where do we go from here? My views are there for all to Google. We are two primary islands with many complementary islands. But we are one country.
By the same token, the two primary peoples with many complementary peoples must become one nation. We don't have to be clones of each other, but we are inextricably linked.
What we need is harmonised diversity; many strings on one guitar making music together. The challenge is to develop the single hymn sheet.
Maori are not just another ethnic group - they are the First Nation People. There is no other place in the world where their culture, language and traditions can be nurtured and exercised. The Crown recognised them as Tangata Whenua in 1840 and Article 2 of the Treaty guarantees them "exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries and other properties".
Officially we have a bicultural identity, although I suspect we pay lip service to things Maori - for example, if we genuinely have two official languages, could I write a cheque in te reo Maori and have it cashed with a smile at any bank?
If we are going to progress towards one nation, is it smart that only the settler language is "mainstreamed"?
When Kiwis go overseas and have to differentiate themselves from the rest of the world they resort to the haka or sing Pokarekare Ana. However, embracing our indigenous identity too often gets left at customs as we re-enter Auckland International.
On the other hand, Maori must understand that many New Zealanders are fourth- and fifth-generation Kiwis. This is home. There is no other home to go back to. The reality of today's Aotearoa is that we have become a far more integrated society - for all its nostalgia it will never be 1840 again.
It is also an undeniable fact that the social fabric of our society is multi-ethnic. In spite of some of the daft generalisations by some ignorant people, our ethnic minorities continue to make a rich contribution to their new homeland.
I recognise the courage of past and present prime ministers on either side of the political spectrum for embarking and continuing on a path of healing the wounds of the past and building a future together.
I also salute the critical roles of many wise old kaumatua and kuia without whose support progress would have been impossible. It is now time to take the next bold step and seek agreement on sustainable constitutional arrangements that will endure no matter who's in government or whatever happens to our demographics.
* South African-born Gregory Fortuin is a former New Zealand Race Relations Conciliator (2001-02).
