Māori law and philosophy lecturer Ani Mikaere.
Ngāti Raukawa had the final word, closing a four-year programme of Waitangi Tribunal hearings to hear evidence from the Iwi.
Māori law and philosophy lecturer Ani Mikaere stated Ngāti Raukawa has never ceded sovereignty to the Crown, speaking to the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of herself and her co-claimant, Dr Whatarangi Winiata, at the final hearing for the Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga confederation.
The hearing was held last Thursday and Friday, with the Tribunal convening in Wellington while tangata whenua witnesses gathered at Raukawa Marae and gave their evidence online. Mikaere was the final speaker on behalf of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga closing the tangata whenua hearings which began in March 2020.
Mikaere (Ngāti Raukawa) advised that Ngāti Raukawa chiefs signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi and not the English language Treaty document and in doing so reaffirmed their tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and agreed the Crown would be granted kāwanatanga (governorship). However, Mikaere also asserted that since May 1840, the Crown has consistently failed to meet its commitments made to Ngāti Raukawa and as outlined in Te Tiriti.
Of particular relevance to Ngāti Raukawa are the current coalition Government’s efforts to “re-write the principles of Te Tiriti”. Mikaere welcomes the Tribunal’s decision in the Paparahi o te Raki report released late last year. This broadly states the “principles must be based on the actual agreement entered into in 1840″.
“These include the three principles of kāwanatanga (exercising authority over British subjects to keep the peace and protect Māori interests, enforcing Māori understandings of pre-Treaty land transactions, fostering, and not undermining, tino rangatiratanga); partnership (both parties moving forward and alongside each other, negotiating their shared spheres when necessary); and of mutual recognition and respect.”
Mikaere said the Crown had diminished “te tino rangatiratanga me te mana” in the rohe and exceeded the limits of kāwanatanga by establishing a system of government in Aotearoa that provided no recognition or acknowledgement of the tino rangatiratanga of Ngāti Raukawa. These actions further diminished the ability of Ngāti Raukawa whānau, hapū and rangatira to determine their own affairs.
In her presentation, Mikaere encouraged the Tribunal to make a recommendation to the Crown that it recognises the tino rangatiratanga of Ngāti Raukawa and acknowledges the iwi did not cede sovereignty. Other recommendations sought include apologies for its many breaches of Te Tiriti. One key recommendation was for the Crown to discuss with Ngāti Raukawa appropriate constitutional processes and institutions to recognise fully Te Tiriti.
The next steps in this process will see the Tribunal hear the Crown’s response to the evidence presented over the 17 hearings held to date; there will be the presentation of the final technical reports and summing up of the Inquiry.
Background to Ngāti Raukawa Waitangi Tribunal sittings
Beginning in March 2020, the Covid-affected hearings went well beyond the planned 12 hearings and this was Week 17.
The overall process since the original claim was made has taken 35 years so far. The Ngāti Raukawa Claim Wai 113 was lodged in 1989 by kaumātua – Whata Karaka Davis, Ngārongo Iwikātea Nicholson, Te Maharanui Jacob and Pita Richardson. They have now all passed on.
The confederation of iwi who occupy the Manawatū/Horowhenua/Kapiti area are generally known as Ngāti Raukawa or Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga to differentiate themselves from their relatives Ngāti Raukawa who occupy the area around Tokoroa, Putaruru, Maungatautari and east towards the Kaimai/Mamaku Range. They comprise as well hapū of Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngati Tukorehe, Ngāti Wehiwehi, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Tūwharetoa.
These iwi originally inhabited the southern Waikato area but migrated to the Manawatū/Horowhenua/Ōtaki area alongside Ngāti Toa, Te Āti Awa and other iwi during the early 19th century.
These iwi represent an estimated population of some 30,000 descendants who affiliate to 21 marae stretching from Bulls in the northwest, Te Reureu in the northeast to Ōtaki in the southwest.