The proposed Treaty Principles Bill has sparked intense debate, and as a Māori, I can’t ignore the pain and frustration it brings. On one hand, it’s deeply personal - a threat to our identity and cultural survival. On the other, it exposes an undercurrent of racism and resistance to Māori culture that persists in Aotearoa today.
Scrolling through social media over the last few months, I’ve often seen comments like, “We are New Zealand, an English-speaking country. Why should Māori be rammed down our throats?” These words cut deep because they misunderstand the very foundation of our country. If Māori language and culture cannot flourish in Aotearoa - the land of our tīpuna - where can they?
New Zealand Is Māori
Samoans have Samoa. Tongans have Tonga, Indians have India, Chinese have China and it goes on. And yet, Māori are being told by some that New Zealand, Aotearoa, is not ours. This land is our whenua. Our whakapapa is tied to its mountains, rivers, and forests. It is where our stories began and where they must continue.
To dismiss te reo Māori and our tikanga is to deny the very essence of New Zealand as a bicultural nation. It hurts to think that some people see our efforts to preserve our culture as a threat to their way of life. But the truth is, it’s not about them. It’s about ensuring that we can retain what little we’ve gained after years of suppression, and protecting it for the generations to come.
The Double Standard of Racism
What’s particularly disheartening is how Māori are treated when we speak up. Some non-Māori New Zealanders without ties to other countries often react with hostility, as though our existence threatens their own. They use words like “radical” to describe Māori who stand up for their rights, while their own racist views are dismissed or even normalised.
It feels like an erasure of culture. Have we not learnt from other countries where indigenous people have been pushed out of their own lands, their languages and traditions left to fade away? Aotearoa must not follow that path. When Māori advocate for the use of te reo or the acknowledgment of our history, we’re not taking anything away from others. We’re simply asking to retain and protect what is inherently ours.
Building a Shared Future
This isn’t about division. It’s about inclusion, acknowledgment, and partnership - the very principles that Te Tiriti o Waitangi was built upon. Imagine a New Zealand where Māori and non-Māori work together in harmony, where our differences are celebrated, and where all people benefit from the richness of te ao Māori.
To those who feel “triggered” by the teaching, speaking, and use of te reo Māori, I urge you to reflect. Preserving Māori culture is not about diminishing your identity. It’s about ensuring that the indigenous culture of this land - our land - is not lost.
Why This Matters
We aren’t asking for much. We’re asking for what should already be ours: the right to speak our language, practice our culture, and ensure its survival for the tamariki and mokopuna who come after us. If this cannot happen in Aotearoa, then where can it happen?
As Māori, we’re not trying to take away from anyone else. We’re simply standing up for ourselves, our tīpuna, and the generations who will follow.
The Treaty Principles Bill threatens to undo the progress we’ve made, and the resistance to Māori culture that it fuels hurts deeply. But we will not give up. We will continue to protect what is ours, not out of anger or hatred, but out of love - for our people, our culture, and our future.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
It is people who matter. Let’s work together to create a future where all people in Aotearoa can thrive - proud of where we come from, and united in where we’re going.
Ngā mihi nui,
Kelly
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