This story is from Stuff
Ko te puka i whakatūria ai ko Aotearoa, i rangā ai te taukaea o te patuitanga a te Māori me te Karauna.
It is New Zealand’s founding document, forged on the promise of a partnership between Māori and the British Crown.
Engari e pīroiroi ana ngā kōrero mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, kei tēnā, kei tēnā ōna ake whakaaro mō te harareitūmatanui.
But the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is complex, and the corresponding public holiday means different things to different people.
Hei tā ētahi, ko te Rangi o Waitangi tētahi rangi e toutou ai i ngā ahi o mahara, mō ngā kawatau a ērā i waitohu ai, i te 1840. Hei tā ētahi atu, he wā kia whakanuia, he whaiwāhitanga hoki e tiro whakamuri ai.
For some, Waitangi Day is a chance to reflect on the intentions of signatories in 1840. For others, it’s a time of celebration and an opportunity to look to the future.
E rerekē ana ngā tirohanga mō te Rangi o Waitangi a Ahorangi Tom Roa (Waikato Maniapoto), nō Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato.
University of Waikato’s Professor Tom Roa (Waikato Maniapoto) views Waitangi Day in a few different lights.
Hei ko tāna, he whakanuitanga, he maharatanga, he arohatanga hoki hei mea kotahi, e whai whakaaroa ana ki te whānui o ngā kōrero mō Aotearoa nō tana waitohunga.
He sees it as a celebration, a commemoration and a commiseration wrapped into one, taking into account the vast history of Aotearoa since the signing.
He puka hirahira Te Tiriti e whakamana nei i te hiahia kia ōkawa ake te hononga i waenga i te Karauna me ngā rangatira Māori, e ai ki a ia.
Te Tiriti is an important document which recognised the need to better formalise a relationship between the British Crown and rangatira Māori (Māori leaders), he says.
Ko te manako rā, mā Te Tiriti e whānui ake ai te kāwanatanga o ngā Pākehā kaumingomingo, i a ia tonu e whakakahangia ana i te hononga a te Karauna ki te Māori.
It was hoped Te Tiriti would allow for greater governorship over unruly Pākehā, while cementing a partnership between the Crown and Māori.
“E marohi ana au, he painga i kitea ai e ō mātou tūpuna te whakaaetia ai e rātou te kāwanatanga me te korenga i whakahauraro, ahakoa pēhea nei, i ō rātou mana Māori motuhake, ō rātou rangatiratanga, ō rātou motuhaketanga, me ngā mana mō ngā rawa ā rātou,” te kī a Tom.
“I suggest our tūpuna saw an advantage in allowing that governorship without surrendering, in any way, their mana Māori motuhake, their autonomy, independence and control over their own resources,” says Roa.
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Inā rā e rerekē tonu ana ngā kōrero i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā, kāore e kore he whakapoapoatanga ngā kōrero mō tētahi kāwanatanga, me te kotahitanga i kawea mai e te Karauna.
While the English and te reo Māori versions differed, the promise of a government and strength of organisation brought by the British would have been attractive to rangatira.
I te ngahurutau i muri tata tonu iho mai i te waitohunga, kua whakarewa mārika i taua kōrero, he tau nō te nōhanga tahitanga a te Māori me te Pākehā ki ngā tāone pēnei i Rangiaowhia, te kī mai a Tom.
In the decade following the signing, that promise was well on its way to being realised as Māori and Pākehā comfortably coexisted in towns like Rangiaowhia, Roa says.
Ko te raru, e kore e roa te ora. Nō taua wā, ā mohoa nei, kua tomo tātou i ngā takahanga Tiriti, te apo, me te kino o te whakahau.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last. The future from that point would be marked with Treaty breaches, greed and a gross misuse of power.
“Kāti, ina whakaaro ake ki tēnā, me whakanui i Te Tiriti, te mea Māori e kōrerotia nei e au,” hei tāna.
“So with that background, I think Te Tiriti, and I'm talking about the Māori version here, is something to celebrate,” he says.
“Engari tonu, ko te kino o te whakahau, me te mōrikarika o te apo i tutū ai te puehu, i tū ai ngā pihi.
“But the misuse and abuse of power and the advancement of greed unfortunately caused the proverbial to hit the fan.
“Mōku ake, i ā mātou hapū hoki, kua whakanuia, kua maharatia ai hoki Te Tiriti, ka arohaina ngā pānga ōna, me te kino o te whakahau, te ngaro ai ngā whenua, ngā tāngata, me ngā ao.”
“Personally, and amongst our hapū, we celebrate and commemorate Te Tiriti, we commiserate with the after-effects of the misuse and abuse of power, which saw lands, lives and livelihoods lost.”
Hei tā te minita whakariterite take Tiriti o mua, Chris Finlayson, he tirohanga ngākaupai ki te Rangi o Waitangi, tērā te arotahinga engia he whakanuitanga i te kotahitanga o te motu.
Former Treaty negotiations minister Chris Finlayson takes an optimistic view of Waitangi Day, viewing it as a celebration of nationhood.
Kia mura ake ana te ahi o mahara o mua, ko tā Chris, he wā ōna i tapaina te 6 o ngā rā o Pēpuere ko New Zealand Day.
Thinking about the past, Finalyson recalls how February 6 was once known as New Zealand Day.
Nā te Pirimia o te wā Norman Kirk te tapanga rā i te 1973. Nā wai ka tapa, ka whakakorengia e ai ki te Waitangi Day Act 1976 i te wā i a Robert Muldoon me te Kāwanatanga Nāhinara.
That name was introduced in 1973 by then-Prime Minister Norman Kirk. It was later reversed through the Waitangi Day Act 1976 under Robert Muldoon’s National Government.
“E tika ana kia kore ai tātou e tapa ko New Zealand Day, engari kē ia, me Waitangi kē, e whakamana ana i ngā pānga o te 6 o Pēpuere i Waitangi, ā, kia kitea ai hoki hei whakanuitanga,” tā Chris.
“It's appropriate that we don't call it New Zealand Day but Waitangi Day to emphasise what happened on February 6 up in Waitangi, but I see it as a celebration,” says Finlayson.
“Arā tāku kōrero, i aku kauhau tuatahi, whakamutunga hoki, e kaha ana taku whakapae he rarū ō ētahi whenua, engari he kaupapa kē tā Aotearoa, anō hoki tōna hihiri.”
“As I said, in both of my maiden speech and valedictory speeches, I have a very firm view that some countries have problems, but New Zealand has a project, and it's an exciting one.”
Ahakoa te hirahira o te mārama ki ngā takahanga me te pōuriuri o mua, e whakapae ana a Chris, me kaua tātou e pokea e tēnā.
While having an understanding of past breaches and grievances was important, Finlayson believes it’s not something to get overburdened by.
Kāore pea tō tātou pūnaha whakatau take Tiriti e pai katoa ana, heoti, kāhore he whenua anō e pēnā ana te kounga o tōna whakarite i tā Aotearoa.
And while our Treaty dispute resolution system is not perfect, he says there is likely no other country that has done it as well as New Zealand.
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Ki tā te titiro a Ahorangi Ella Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī) nō Te Wānanga Aronui, he whakanuitanga, he maharatanga hoki te Rangi o Waitangi.
Professor Ella Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī) from Auckland University of Technology views Waitangi Day as a celebration and commemoration rolled into one.
Ko te 6 o ngā rā o Pēpuere, 1840, te rangi i whiria tahitia ai ngā taukaea o Aotearoa me te Karauna, ā, koia e noho tahi nei tātou, hei tāna.
February 6, 1840, was the day Aotearoa entered into a partnership with the British, and was the reason we now live together, she says.
“Kei te āhua o te wā te tau rānei o te nōhanga, heoti kāhore tētahi o tātou e noho pēnei mai nei me kore ake ko te Tiriti.
“Whether it is harmoniously or not depends on the time, but none of us would be here in the ways that we are now without the Treaty.
“Nā reira, he maharatanga ki a mātou e Māori ana,” hei tāna, “kua kitea hoki te nui o te whanaketanga i ngā ngahurutau tata mō te whakatau i ngā take Tiriti, te whakamana i te reo Māori me ngā tikanga ki te pāpori o Aotearoa.”
“So it is a commemoration for those of us who are Māori,” she says, “and who've seen real progress in recent decades around resolution of Treaty grievances, acknowledgement of the value of te reo me ngā tikanga to New Zealand society.”
Ki a ngāi Tauiwi, e whakapaengia nei hoki te hirahira o Te Tiriti ki ō tātou hītori, he whakanuitanga hoki te Rangi o Waitangi, hei ko tā Ella.
For non-Māori who viewed Te Tiriti as an important part of our history, Waitangi Day was a celebration as well, Henry says.
Ka tiro whakamuri ana, e whakapono ana ia e oti i a Aotearoa te ārahi i te ao mō te urupare i ngā hiahia a te iwi taketake e tōkeke tonu ai, e mana tonu ai hoki.
Looking forward, she believes Aotearoa has the ability to lead the world in how it responds to indigenous needs in a fair and honourable way.
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