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    Join Bob Scott & Tāmaki Tiriti Workers to learn about his interesting life fighting for social justice. Potluck dinner and informed discussion to follow. 6.30-9pm Monday 23rd March 2015 1/5 Seymour Street, St Marys Bay RSVP to heather.came@yahoo.co.nz

Recently the contributors of Treaty Blog received an email regarding a new educational resource. Called "Alternatives to anti-Maori themes in news media", it is a media booklet created and shared by The Treaty Resource Centre. It is available both online and, by request, in hard copy. " The news media are not neutral or objective. Studies   show that the news repeats and reinforces negative themes about Māori that date from the earliest days of colonisation." There are thirteen themes presented, flowing from " Pākehā as the norm" to "Ignorance and Insensivity" and " Māori success". It reveals the negative attitudes that prevail in our current climate and offers alternative actions and statements that can be used to counter these themes.    The Treaty Resource Centre says "These negative themes present Māori interests and what Māori do as problems, or as being on the margins. They also help make Pākehā control over institutions, re...

  I guess most of us felt relief when the Waitangi Tribunal reported that the Māori who signed Te Tiriti did not cede sovereignty and had neither intention nor reasons to do so… " The rangatira who signed te Tiriti o Waitangi in February 1840 did not cede sovereignty to the British Crown, the Waitangi Tribunal has concluded. The Tribunal today released its report on stage 1 of its inquiry into Te Paparahi o te Raki (the great land of the north) Treaty claims. The report concerns the ‘meaning and effect’ of the Treaty in February 1840, when the first signings of te Tiriti took place in the Bay of Islands and the Hokianga. Stage 2 of the inquiry, which is under way, will consider events after February 1840. ‘Though Britain went into the treaty negotiation intending to acquire sovereignty, and therefore the power to make and enforce law over both Maori and Pakeha, it did not explain this to the rangatira’, the Tribunal said. Rather, Britain ’s representative William Hobson and his ag...

Mr Allbones’ Ferrets - an historical pastoral satirical romance, with mustelids, by Fiona Farrell, 2007.  A vintage Book, Random House, NZ. I have just caught up with this book and it was well worth reading, although I found it quite difficult to get into. I realize that this is because it feels very alien and at times repulsive if, like me, you have had no experience of ferrets, and have always regarded mustelids as lethal predators on our birdlife. The way in was for me to enter into an alien cultural experience, the world of English Victorian village life as lived by the most impoverished people. Soon afterwards I was drawn into an equally alien world of affluent middle class scientifically-minded European gentlemen.

You are invited to attend the 2014 Quaker Lecture, Standing in this place: How do Pākehā support justice for Māori? With David James, Jillian Wychel, Linda Wilson, Murray Short Time:  arrive 7:00 pm for a 7:30 pm start Date:  Tuesday 18 November 2014 Venue:  Mt Eden Friends Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Rd, Auckland If you are unable to get there in the evening, there is also the opportunity to hear it at 10:30 am that morning - also in the Meeting House. Arrive 10:00 am.  

When:  Monday 10 November at 7:00pm Where:  Friends Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Rd. A koha will be collected. This Paora Joseph film is being screened near to 5 November, Parihaka Day. It will be introduced by Maata Hurita Wharehoka with a Q and A session afterwards. Watch the trailer here , or read on for information from the film's website .

Institutional racism is defined as an entrenched pattern of differential access to material resources and power determined by race, which advantages one subpopulation while disadvantaging another. In short it is a form of structural violence that is a key enabler of health inequities. After a robust consultation process, this month the Public Health Association (a peak public health organisation) endorsed an institutional racism policy that had previously been ratified by the Health Promotion Forum (a peak health promotion organisation).  It would be great if it had been a Ministry of Health policy or one or all of the District Health Boards but it is a critical stepping stone. This policy sponsored by the PHA Special Interest Group on Institutional Racism will now be a lever to encourage public health/health promotion practitioners and organisations to consider what their contribution will be to ending racism in our sector. The endorsement of this policy puts anti-racism praxis back...

Wellington Treaty Educators Network are to host a forum on He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni - The Declaration of Independence, with Moana Jackson and Claudia Orange. This will be at 12:30 pm, Tuesday 28 October at Wellington Central Library. Entry is free. All details are in the poster below and on the Facebook page for this event .    

I had the privilege of living in Taranaki for ten years amongst the people of Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Ruanui. It is an extraordinary corner of New Zealand rich in beauty with resilient, resourceful and patient locals. For me it is a place where the land speaks and history bubbles up – a potent history of dispossession, violence, treachery and resilience, hope and resourcefulness. I always find it comforting to see the feathers of Parihaka and remember the unique courage of the ploughers and the prophets. I am writing this because I believe Taranaki Māori have waited long enough for justice and a voice in how their community is run and it is time for the stalwarts of the NPDC to ensure Māori voices are always at the decision-making table. Democracy does not work for an indigenous minority rather it provides a structure barrier to representation. Today is suffrage day a day to reflect on power, decision making and voice. Despite the fears of many men the world didn’t end when ...

Editors note: I recently attended the Human Rights Commission's annual Diversity Forum and was shocked to learn of the conditions of Filipino workers involved in the Christchurch rebuild. In the session I attended it was compared to modern slavery. Although not the usual focus of this blog, we felt it was important to share this story of what is happening in our neighbourhood. New Zealand is a society that prides itself on its openness to ethnic diversity and its commitment to liberal democratic principles of freedom and equality. Many national and international surveys, including ones conducted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, have noted a consistent theme: we are an open and inclusive nation in principle, but often fall short of our ideals in specific situations; and where particular immigrant groups are concerned, New Zealanders favour white immigrants over immigrants of other ethnic or racial origins. Asians are consistently received with less warmth than whites in New Zeala...

Given it is election season a group of committed public health practitioners asked all the political parties what their position was on addressing institutional racism. Below are the responses received in alphabetical order, note lengthy responses have been edited. We hope this information will help you make an informed choice about which political party to support this election. Let’s wipe out institutional racism! Click here  to read each party's position on institutional racism.

Network Waitangi Otautahi have just released their 2014 AGM report . At the AGM, Rachael Harris presented  on  The Changing Face of Co-Governance in NZ - a study of arrangements between the Crown and Ngai Tahu, and the Crown and Ngai Tuhoe in facilitating a Treaty-based future. Copies of the power point presentation and notes are available. If you would like a copy of these, please contact Katherine Peet at organisers@nwo.org.nz. Network Waitangi Otautahi' s emphasis is on encouraging those who do not have Maori ancestry to understand the Treaty of Waitangi. They are part of a wider national network of groups and individuals who are working towards a Treaty-based multicultural Aotearoa New Zealand where the indigenous status of tangata whenua and the role of tangata Tiriti are understood.

An independent report on Stage One of the Ngapuhi claims regarding the Declaration of Independence and Te Tiriti o Waitangi is nearing sales of 2000 hard copies.  The report presents  previously unpublished Maori evidence about the intentions of rangatira for the Treaty agreement and He Wakaputanga, known as the Declaration of Independence (1835).  First published in 2012, Ngapuhi Speaks has this week been released as an e-book on New Zealand site  meBooks.co.nz .   The 400-page report by an independent panel of Maori and Pakeha academics has been steadily selling while Ngapuhi still awaits a report from the Waitangi Tribunal itself on the claim, WAI1040.

Following on from Kotare Trusts summer school, they plan to reflect on the challenge to capitalism further in their winter school, which asks: “How do we organise to build our strength now?” There are a variety of stimulating workshops planned with invited guest presenters offering their own provocative ideas and insights on organising effective left opposition to neoliberalism. The winter school will be run 22-24th August at the Kotare Centre. Register before the 12th of August to secure your place. See the Kotare Trust website  for further information and contact details, and take a look at the final pānui here , which lists the featured presentations and other relevant information.

I remember buzzing along that big main road in Rotorua, Fenton Street, and idly wondering where the name came from. Well, I’ve just done a spot of research so now I know. Francis Dart Fenton was a lawyer who became the first judge of the Native Land Court under the legislation of 1865. This Act put in place what was needed for the direct purchase of land – putting land into individual title. Recognising that huge numbers of acres hand been wrongly confiscated, the Court’s early task was the return of that land, but whereas the land had previously been communally held, and administered by rangatira, it was returned in individual title.

By Susan Healy, with the full Press Council findings provided under the cut. Cecily McNeil is editor of Welcom, a monthly newsletter for the Wellington Catholic diocese. In February, she wrote an editorial saying it was important to know the history of our country and to honour the Treaty partnership. In the same issue she wrote an article presenting to readers some of the key evidence from  Ngāpuhi Speaks , the independent report on the hearing of Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu's claim concerning He Wakaputanga (the Declaration of Independence) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Subsequently, Mike Butler took a complaint to the Press Council, saying the editorial and article were a case of unbalanced journalism. The Press Council have now assessed the complaint and decided that it is not valid. Here are extracts from the Press Council's assessment:

28 th June/Pipiri  -28 th July/Hōngongoi  2014 The rising of the Matariki star constellation announces Te tau hou, the Māori New Year.  Here is how to find the constellation. Historically, Matariki occurred at the end of the harvest season. It was a time to fill the storage houses (pātaka kai) with food and for whānau and friends to come together, acknowledge the successes of the past year, and look towards the year ahead. Matariki Festival celebrates a unique time in the New Zealand calendar with 31 days of culture, food, fun and entertainment. Events will be happening all over New Zealand (and some in Australia!!!) So make sure to get along. Check out the Tāmaki-based events ; Melbourne-based events ; Christchurch-based events ; Dunedin-based events ; Te Papa-based events ; Wellington-based events  

General Sir Duncan Cameron, who led the Highland Brigade at Balaclava during the Crimean War, arrived in New Zealand to lead the army assembled by Governor Grey. Made up of British troops, various volunteer settlers, and some “friendly” Māori  (fall-out from divide and rule tactics).

We all know that Māori are overrepresented in negative health statistics for a range of complex reasons ( Robson and Harris 2007 I suspect there are many instances where this failure of the health system successfully protecting and promoting Māori health is a contemporary breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 puts a statutory imperative on District Health Boards (but ultimately the whole health sector) to deliver accessible, clinically safe and effective health services to all New Zealanders and work towards reducing heath disparities between Māori and non-Māori.

Being True to the Gospel and Honouring the Treaty listening together, working together This blog post has information about the forthcoming 'Being True to the Gospel and Honouring the Treaty' hui, and how you can support it.