[1]Respect and
acceptance of the differences between Māori rangatiratanga and
Crown kāwanatanga will only come
about through the give and take of deliberative and ongoing constitutional
discussions. So too will the structures
to expedite that respect.
Besides discussions about the political relationship
with the Crown, there is also considerable kōrero
about the relationships between Iwi
or among Māori in general. In fact it has
been quite forcefully stated at many hui
that the strength of the treaty relationship depends upon the strength and
viability of the relationships Māori have with each other. It is often felt,
for example, that more time is spent trying to cement a relationship with the
Crown than there is trying to strengthen the ties between Iwi, or between Iwi
and organisations such as the Urban Māori
Authorities -
“Our whakapapa are about our
interrelationships but that was always attacked by the colonisers…they knew
their own whakataukī
about strength in unity but were always more interested in their other one
about ‘divide and rule’…He
Whakaputanga is a reminder that in dealing with changing situations, our
individual mana depends on how
well we can use it to work with others when we need to”.
“One of the strengths we have is that on the marae we are still
welcomed according to our relationships with the hau kāinga…it is the
whakapapa that brings us together and that should be an important value in the
way we work with each other on political issues as well”.
“It was a worry in our group that we forget our
whakapapa to each other and make political decisions, or worse we make
investment choices in other rohe that ignore or even takahi
the rangatiratanga of other Iwi…we have to be more tika
in those things if we hope to get the relationship with the Crown right”.
The Matike Mai Working Group
shares that concern and acknowledges how the Crown has continually selected
which Māori it will choose or not choose to engage with. Conversely, tikanga never
privileges one group of Māori over another, and whakapapa never excludes
someone because of where they live or how they choose to organise
themselves.
This
kōrero naturally leads into kōrero about conciliation, which is the final
whakapapa value that Māori see as necessary to a Tiriti-based and inclusive
constitution. That value will be the
subject of next week’s column and in future columns outlining the indicative
models for a constitution that Matike Mai have drawn from all of the kōrero.
In the
end, it’s all about acknowledging the value of equitable and respectful relationships
with others, and especially among ourselves.
[1] Fortieth edited extract
from pp. 88 – 89 of He Whakaaro Here Whakaumu Mō Aotearoa – The Report of
Matike Mai o
Aotearoa
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