Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands, Northland.
As Whanganui wakes up to Waitangi Day, local leaders say what it celebrates is as important as ever.
Te Kōpuka (the strategy group for Te Awa Tupua) chairman Gerrard Albert said the Treaty was relevant “every single day”, not just once a year.
“If politicians and the country as a whole can really grasp that point, I think we’ll be in a much better place,” he said.
“What the Treaty is about, and what Māori rights are about, is the ability to actually practice governance and participate in a way that is good for all.”
Te Pūwaha, Whanganui’s port revitalisation project, was one example of that.
Working relationships between the Government and iwi were improving, albeit very slowly, but the current discourse around whether co-governance was appropriate or not didn’t help anything, Albert said.
“We have politicians focus in one part of the year - Rātana and Waitangi - on unhelpful politicisation of something that should really be a community concern.
“We are all part of the same community and there’s nothing wrong with Māori participating on an equitable level to help improve our country.
“It will ensure we have a better outcome and that we’re not just focused on playing to particular sections of the community who have the money to support politicians being voted into Parliament.”
Whanganui Regional Museum educator Lisa Reweti said government departments and institutions were making more of an effort to normalise all things Māori.
That enabled staff members to follow the three principles of the Treaty - protection, partnership and participation.
“When people have things explained to them and they understand, then they are more likely to buy in and want to take part,” Reweti said.
“With legislation [Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017] changing around the river, that’s opening up doorways where people are actually starting to talk about the past and plan for the future in a really positive way.”
Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe said he felt the message behind the Treaty of Waitangi was one of partnership and unity.
“I feel that society is getting more divisive, and there’s more division than there has ever been,” Tripe said.
“We need a mechanism to bring us back together again. A reminder of that is the Treaty of Waitangi.”
It was signed on February 6, 1840, by Governor William Hobson, on behalf of Queen Victoria, and 43 Maori rangatira (chiefs).
Around 540 rangatira eventually signed it, although 500 of those signed Te Tiriti – the Māori version.
The Māori version is not an exact translation of the English one, and differences in the texts have led to ongoing debates.
A national holiday - New Zealand Day - was declared in 1974 before it became Waitangi Day two years later.
In Pātea, the annual Paepae In the Park event will be held at Memorial Park on Monday, celebrating the signing of the Treaty and showcasing local musical talent.
“A lot of our holidays are just treated as a day off but there is a reason for them,” Tripe said.
“I think we should take time to reflect and even challenge our own thinking as to the origins and the meaning of it for all of us right now.”
He said the council’s relationship with iwi was very important.
“If you look through all of our committees and meetings, a lot of them have iwi partnerships.
“The new courthouse and police precinct is one example.
“Could there be more? I think so, but there is a growing awareness of the importance of Tikanga and Te Ao Māori.”
Reweti said she only learned about the full history of the Treaty while working at Te Papa in her late twenties, under the tutelage of Dame Claudia Orange.
“I was lucky and privileged to have a lot of time and training with her.
“When I see these terrible, racist comments on Facebook, I think they’ve been made by people who don’t actually know the full story.
“If they did, they wouldn’t be saying these things. Every New Zealander should have the opportunity to learn and understand how this country became New Zealand.”