Where Are We Today?
Māori had been protesting about Treaty violations since the 1840s, and there had been sporadic responses by the government, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that systemic changes began to be introduced. This module provides an overview of the current status of those efforts.
This module comprises of the following sections. While we recommend you work through them linearly, if you’re returning, or specifically interested in a particular issue, you can jump to the relevant section by clicking on the headings below.
A combination of factors in the early 1970s brought Treaty injustices to the attention of the general public which in turn prompted the government to establish the Waitangi Tribunal, followed by other significant changes such as inclusion of Treaty principles in legislation and development of the settlements process.
The Crown’s understanding of the meaning of the Treaty today is evolving in several different contexts including the Tribunal, the courts and government departments, but there is still a very wide gap between their views and those of the hapū.
There have been many significant changes in the past 50 years, but the issues are far from resolved.
Key Terms
Here are key terms and concepts used in this module. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, we recommend you click on the links to review the terms and how they relate to the material in this course (some are used in other contexts, such as hapu, which also means pregnant, but here is used to in the context of the Māori social structures.
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