The United Kingdom has a history of colonization dating back to the 16th century. The horrors that have been done to people and countries have lingering marks on their cultures and languages. Many of these crimes have been kept like a key under the rug and censored from the public. Despite this,there is one particular group of people who had lost their culture entirely by colonization and were later apologized to by the United Kingdom.
WHO ARE MĀORI PEOPLE?
Māori (mao-ri) people are indigenous to Aotearoa (ow-te-de-wa), also known as New Zealand. Their population consists of tribes called Iwi (e-wee) and Hapū (ha-pou), which are smaller, independent tribes underneath Iwi. It’s believed that Eastern Polynesians settled there around the 13th century.
As of recently, New Zealand’s population is ⅙ Maori because of European settlers that arrived during the 1800s. When they came, they saw Aotearoa as a bunch of land “waiting to be claimed” which contrasting with how Māori people view land as a treasure and a gift. Aotearoa wasn’t seen as a nation despiteIwi being in charge of the land. This difference in views brought forth a document written by Māori Chiefs to declare Aotearoa’s independence. In exchange for British people staying there, Māori sought King William IV’s protection.
However, another document called the Treaty of Waikato (wai-gato) was issued between the Māori Chiefs and the UK’s government to clarify the use of land– which instead, started the colonization of Aotearoa. The Māori thought they had an agreement with the Crown about what they had control over in Aotearoa, which was whatever property the British built, they had full ownership over. But, the settlers who wrote the transcript of the treaty said that “the Queen of England” had “all rights and power of sovereignty”– which is complete power over the nation (Vox 5:08-13).
WHAT DID THE UK DO?
British settlers threatened the Māori people, demanding that that they “sell (Britain) this land or (the government) will confiscate it” (Vox 6:26-30). This treatment continued until 1860, when Māori people were fed up with their land being taken and not being informed as to what they agreed upon. It was called the New Zealand Wars that lasted from 1845 to 1872. About 2,000 Māori soldiers died as others continued to try and save their land from any more colonization. Despite their desperate attempts, a law was passed which allowed the settlers to steal land from those who disrespected the Queen by rebelling. This caused destruction to the Māori people in every way. Land was rapidly taken away from them and their culture also started to slip away.
The name New Zealand was given by western colonizers during the 1800s. They brought diseases and war onto the Māori people’s country, which had lowered their population by 60%. They had completely lost 88% of their land over the span of 99 years. Colonization destroyed their language entirely, and it is barely spoken anymore. It has made Māori people question their identity and who they are without their culture, language, customs, and just about everything.
THE BEGINNING OF A FIGHT
With the invention of TVs allowing them to hear news about the Black Power Movement, Māori people were inspired in ways they could stand up and protest for their rights. One group in particular, Ngā Tamatoa (na tama-toa), used the same techniques when rallying about Māori people’s right to speak in their own language because it was banned in schools. The Land March of 1975 is a big march that was also started by Ngā Tamatoa which helped Māori people fight to get their land back. Sixty thousand Maori people conveyed their thoughts on what kinds of reparations should be given back to them. They came up with a slogan calling out the New Zealand government to not take another area of theirs again: “Not one more acre of Māori land be sold.”
The Land March of 1975 was a huge success. Many of the protesters participating in the rally spent nearly a month contacting the Crown and New Zealand’s government to recognize the violent and horrible things they’ve done to Māori people. An immediate response from the Crown was given through an act called, “Treaty of Waitangi Act of 1975”. This was an investigation that was conducted to how they had violated the Treaty of Waikato.
Although, it didn’t stop there. For ten years, Māori people continued to fight back because they didn’t believe that the supposed treaty the Crown had made was authentic and rather a way to push the protests aside. Which then led to another accomplishment of being able to talk about the tragic historical moments as far as 1840 inside the conversation of the Treaty of Waitangi (Wai-tangi). Being able to talk about the events from the past has allowed a few Māori people feeling gracious they could have a say in what happened to Aotearoa, instead of one voice controlling it all.
The successful outcomes of the protests allow the generations of Māori children up until now no longer suppress who they are from non-Māori classmates, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
REPARATIONS OVERVIEW
According to Cambridge University, reparations are the act of giving back to communities that were hurt. An example given is if two countries were at war and one retreated in defeat, they would aid the other as reparations for the damage they’ve done. One of the places where reparations have been debated about the most is in the United States. The way they have treated black people for the last centuries: enslavement, racism, and discrimination they have faced continues to live embedded in the legal system as well as people’s customs. Same with the Indigenous people in the U.S., they were killed and pushed out of their homes because of British and French settlers who wanted land. Any of the treaties and agreements they had made were abused.
In the case of Māori people and the UK’s Crown, reparations and accountability from them were finally given.
UK AND MĀORI REPARATIONS
These are some of the reparations that consisted: apologies from New Zealand’s government, the Crown (the UK’s government and people in the royal house), and most specifically Queen Elizabeth II. About 30,000 land acres were restored with their original names (Cineas). The rivers and other resources the Māori people had used were given back, as well as thirty million dollars which allowed them to get a start in infrastructures that provided education, a place to shop (which is now the 2nd biggest mall in New Zealand), and Marae, which is a religious and sacred place. It wasn’t until 2010, when the governing of the longest river that holds a big significance in its name for Māori Iwi, Waikato, was finally returned.
Despite this, it doesn’t erase the destruction that happened for nearly a century. Many Māori people have mixed feelings about it as well. Some think that the apology is merely beneficial in the Crown’s side, to no longer feel guilty about what they did because they said, “Sorry.” It also contributes to the amount of land acres they were given back because it’s barely anything compared to what they had before colonization. But, they have decided to take on this moment of time to claim and revive back their stolen language and culture, but this does not mean they’re ignoring the history of Aotearoa.
The Minister of Defense in New Zealand had brushed over it at a meeting held in Taranaki, “This apology in and of itself cannot undo the harm that has been caused through the actions of the Crown. But I hope that it demonstrates a different Crown, one that seeks to learn from its history and commits to working alongside Ngāti Maru (na-ti ma-rue) today and in the future.”
Overall, Māori people found that the several year long protests is worth it. The fights they have started continues to be a topic consisting of land and cash settlements that need to be given back as well.
OPEN-ENDED QUESTION
Consider thinking about what can this tell us about how reparations should be done in the United States and is it too late to give back for all the lives, homes, and resources that black and indigenous people need?
Works Cited
Cineas, Fabiola. “New Zealand’s Māori Fought for Reparations - and Won.” Vox, 17 Jan. 2023, www.vox.com/the-highlight/23518642/new-zealand-reparations-maori-settlements.
Cineas, Fabiola. “What New Zealand Can Teach Us about Reparations.” YouTube, 15 Dec. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_potLYuZSY&list=WL&index=17&t=194s.
“Māori Summary.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 15 May 2023, www.britannica.com/summary/Maori.
“Reparation.” REPARATION | Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/reparation. Accessed 31 May 2023.
“Maori and the Land.” Waikatoregion.Govt.Nz, www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/community/your-community/iwi/a-maori-perspective-te-ao-maori/maori-and-the-land/#:~:text=M%C4%81ori%20regard%20land%2C%20soil%20and,a%20key%20issue%20for%20M%C4%81ori. Accessed 31 May 2023.