Origin and Design
Story of the Course
Making Sense of the Treaty grew out of decades of Treaty education delivered by the Auckland Workers’ Educational Association (AWEA) through the Treaty Resource Centre. For many years, our work was delivered kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) in workplaces, communities, and tertiary settings. These courses have been shaped by the questions, challenges, and real-life experiences of thousands of learners.
The move to create an online version began in early 2010 as a way to make Treaty education more widely available, particularly for people and organisations who cannot attend in-person workshops. There were a number of delays and mishaps that got in the way of this idea becoming reality, but after a couple of We wanted to keep the essence of our in-person approach — clarity, honesty, and practical application — while creating something that is flexible, interactive, and accessible anywhere in Aotearoa or beyond.
Separate to the specific learning outcomes, the need we are trying to fill is a gap we often see: many people want to take active steps to implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi but are unsure where to start. This course offers a first step into that space.
Design Decisions
The Birds: The bird illustrations and characters used throughout the course were chosen to bring warmth, personality, and approachability to what can be challenging subject matter. Each bird carries its own story and symbolic meaning, offering learners a way to connect emotionally as well as intellectually with the content.
Our Narrators and voices: Our Narrators and Voices
We’ve chosen a mix of tauiwi (non-Māori) voices and faces for narration, and this choice is deliberate.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi was an agreement between hapū and the English Crown. While it made promises to Māori, those promises largely recognised rights and authority Māori already held before 1840. The primary purpose of the Treaty was to grant rights to the Crown and its citizens — the incoming tauiwi — so they could settle here under their own legal system while respecting the authority of hapū.
From this perspective, tauiwi are the primary beneficiaries of the Treaty’s intent, and therefore hold a primary responsibility to understand it, talk about it, and take action to uphold it. We believe Treaty education for tauiwi should, wherever possible, be led by tauiwi, rather than placing that burden on Māori who have carried the impacts of the Crown’s breaches for generations.
Including tauiwi voices in this course reinforces that responsibility and models the kind of peer-to-peer education that can help build understanding and action across our communities, while still ensuring Māori perspectives are present and respected.
Voices, Pronunciation, and AI Technology
In developing this course, we’ve balanced our commitment to authenticity with the practical realities of a small budget and the need for flexibility as the course evolves. Most narration is delivered using AI text-to-speech technology and AI-generated talking heads. This approach allows us to make updates and improvements to the course quickly, without the ongoing cost and time of repeated studio recording sessions, while still providing an engaging learning experience.
Where te reo Māori is used — whether for kupu (words) or place names — we have taken particular care to ensure whakahua (pronunciation) is accurate and respectful. These segments have been voiced by fluent te reo Māori speakers, and we have adapted our audio so that their correct pronunciation is integrated into the narration.
By combining AI tools for flexibility with authentic Māori voices for linguistic integrity, we aim to deliver a course that is both accessible and culturally respectful.
Site Update and Feedback
We intend to review feedback periodically and update the site accordingly. During the first phase of release (from 20 August 2025, we anticipate monthly review cycles. While we may not respond to individual feedback directly, we will summarise key themes and outline how we are addressing them on this site.