A holiday after the storms and reflection about treaties

Dionne Mills
Mar 13, 2023
3 min read

In the middle of February, before the end of summer, we drove north to the Bay of Islands for a weekend getaway that I'd planned months ago. We almost didn't go, because the North Island had recently been slammed with two major storms, with the latter being a cyclone that destroyed a lot of roads and bridges and flooded many homes. The weather, and subsequent damage in Aotearoa this summer was unprecedented, with nothing eve remotely similar in over 30yrs. I am so grateful that, despite the lengthy detours we had to take due to road closures, Russell, Northland, was unscathed and the weekend we were there the weather was almost perfect. One of the few glimpses of quintessential NZ summer that we were able to see this season. Our rental house was right on the beach, with breathtaking views that we could see while laying in bed.

The landscapes along the way were breathtaking. Miles and miles of green rolling hills and contented lifestock. On our way back home we drove back down along the east coast and we were rewarded for our detours by the beauty of this country.

While we were in Russell, Randy and I took the children to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

The treaty of Waitangi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, is New Zealand’s founding document. As most treaties go, it was meant to enshrine a partnership between the 500 Māori chiefs and the British Crown. As most treaties with colonizers go, there were breaches, misrepresentations, convenient translations that have caused far reaching problems and conflicts.

Most would say that the intent of the treaty was to give rights of Aotearoa to the British crown, while protecting the autonomy of the Maori people, recognizing thier own power to self govern.

The English version vs te reo Maori versions had suspicious and convenient discrepancies that made a huge difference in the excecution of the treaty and the ability of the Maori people to demand compliance over time.

See video below with more details, and my thoughts.

During the informative tour, we were able to see a culture show and had the honor of participating in a Pōwhiri prior to entering the Marae (Maori meeting house).

A pōwhiri is a Maori greeting ceremony that establishes respect between both groups and a promise of sincerity and good intent. In this tour, one person from our tour volunteered to serve as our chief and receive the token of peace that is placed on the ground before us.

I love how certain Maori customs are incorporated into daily life here in Aotearoa (thanks to the adovacy of the Maori people, a revitalisation of te reo Maori lanuage etc has occured, and treaty promises broken by the crown have been called out ... long story). On the day that my choir was meeting with other sister choirs from other parts of the N. Island, we did a pōwhiri first, on the grounds of the school that was allowing us to use their facilities. On the first day of school for Micah, the orientation day assembly started with a pōwhiri. There are different ways to do it but it has essentially similar structure and purpose. It is taken seriously, as it should be.

We were allowed to record the pōwhiri, but were only able to take pictures, no video, while inside the marae.