It has been 184 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed by chiefs of northern iwi on February 6.
Shortly afterwards, copies of the Treaty were sent around the country for rangatira of various tribes to discuss and sign.
Back in 1840, seven of our Kāi Tahu rangatira signed Te Tiriti. In June of that year, three of our local rangatira are known to have their tohu (signature) on the treaty signed on HMS Herald at Ruapuke Island with Major Thomas Bunbury.
The other locations within our Kāi Tahu tribal boundary where our ancestors signed the treaty were Akaroa and Ōtākou.
In recognition of this, the rūnaka based at these locations now take turns to host the official Kāi Tahu Waitangi Day commemoration on a three-yearly cycle.
This year it is the turn of our marae "Te Rau Aroha" at Awarua to commemorate, celebrate and discuss continued commitment to the partnership entered into all those years ago.
For Awarua, this means welcoming all people to our marae, under the "korowai o manaakitanga" (to look after and care for our guests).
This happens by formally welcoming them on to our marae, acknowledging them and the reasons we have gathered and making sure our hospitality extends to giving visitors a good kai.
If you hosted a large crowd for Christmas dinner, you may have some appreciation of the logistics involved in hosting around 500 people for lunch. None of this would be possible without our wonderful kaimahi and volunteers, who have been planning this event for months.
They do so willingly alongside juggling multiple other roles and I would like to acknowledge the aroha that they put into this event.
We are very fortunate with our marae with its modern design and artwork led by master carver Cliff Whiting, which we enjoy sharing with our guests.
Artwork within our marae celebrates our history, Te Tiriti and early contact including intermarriage. Many of our pou celebrate our female tīpuna who married Pākehā men and were instrumental in the earliest partnerships between the Māori and European.
Waitangi Day is an opportunity for us to strengthen the current partnerships we have developed with local and central government, community leaders and businesses within the Murihiku community and beyond. These partnerships are the result of the efforts of our tīpuna, who as early as 1849 found they had to work hard through the courts to bring the Crown’s attention to its obligation to honour the commitments it had made under Te Tiriti.
Unfortunately, it was not until nearly 150 years later in 1998 that the Crown acknowledged in its formal apology to the iwi that it had "acted unconscionably and in repeated breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in its dealings with Ngāi Tahu in the purchases of Ngāi Tahu land" and had "failed in most material respects to honour its obligations to Ngāi Tahu as its Treaty partner".
During our commemoration events, we expect to have some kōrero or debate about how our continued commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi is unfolding.
Many people, both Māori and non-Māori, have expressed to us that they would like to learn more about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. So this year Dr Keri Milne-Ihimaera has created an opportunity for members of the community to come along to the marae in the days before the official Waitangi Day commemoration to listen to speakers, learn about the Treaty, ask questions and take part in respectful discussion with others.
This pre-Waitangi Day event, Matatū Te Tiriti, commenced yesterday evening and will continue this evening with Dr Keri Milne-Ihimaera hosting a session on Te Tiriti and Education from 5pm-6pm, and Dr Hana O-Regan speaking from 7pm-8.30pm.
Alongside these opportunities for discussion and debate, Waitangi Day at Te Rau Aroha Marae is also very much a family day out. There are stalls to visit and activities set up especially for tamariki to enjoy.
What’s important to us is that New Zealand recognises that Waitangi Day is not just a day for Māori. This is a day for us all. You get a day’s holiday, but what we want is to ensure the mana and intention of the Treaty are upheld by everyone.
What is problematic about the present political disruption about the Treaty, and the proposal to debate and define the Treaty principles, is: where is the manaaki or caring, the consideration of people, iwi Māori and communities?
I think lessons can be learnt from our marae when discussing and debating important issues. We’re up for the discussion and we’re not afraid of a robust (and sometimes heated) debate.
But we never lose sight of what is most important — and that is looking after the people. If we put people first, we can never go wrong.
We, as the descendants of those who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840, must continue to ensure we honour the reasons our ancestors signed all those years ago.
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei — For us and our children after us.
— Dean Whaanga is a trustee of Te Rūnaka o Awarua.
