Maori issues/treaty of waitangi

As a pakeha, living down in the South, it seems natural that I should call the treaty of waitangi a “Maori Issue” If you look at the map provided, there is only one tribal group south of Kaikoura, that being Ngai Tahu. Actually it’s very rarely that I see or come incontact with Maori out of the office, and when I’m there we present ourselves as New Zealanders. Although their is no questyion that a New Zealand Pakeha, or New Zealand Maori, proud of the title and heritage that comes with that would assert for themselves a unique cultural identity, quite apart from any other.

This then is where I think the treaty and the working together of differeing cultural backgrounds and assunmptions in our everyday life is important. Because the differences of culture can be quite defined, especially in the context of the environment, such as a classroom, a public building, a Marae, a kitchen, allthese environments are treated differently, and when “ownership” is the question, or authority, who shall take priority? And if conflict is neccessary, it may be more because of casual ignorance where protocol or informality are concerned.

What seems neccesary, in my mind, when working with Maori and the differences which arise in understanding, is the aknowledgement of a continual contract, a knowledge of the place and of just what you’re sharing and why. Why I think has the answer to the unification of our common goals,  why does this contract exist, and if we’re to see the current situation clearly, what can be gained from this bi cultural fact with which we are faced. And some would say, where does the cultural barrier end. At 2, or three, or an indevisble number. But that said, roots are the the stem from which a culture grows, and these must be remembered and nurtured, in order to bear fruit in the future. This is what makes New Zealand New Zealand, and Aotearoa, Aotearoa.