The Treaty of Waitangi Debunking Myths

Myths Every country has myths. Sometimes they grow from a real person or event. Sometimes they can be hard to explode because people want to believe them.

Myths Aotearoa/New Zealand has some myths like this – stories that are not true but have been passed on through generations.

Myths Some people use these myths when others are critical of the way the Treaty of Waitangi has been treated. Some myths have grown up in New Zealand about the Treaty.

Myth No 1 New Zealand has had excellent race relations because the Treaty of Waitangi made it bicultural. One Treaty party got the lion’s share of this country’s assets. Aotearoa/New Zealand can only be bicultural when the other party is given the same rights.

Myth No 2 Moriori arrived in New Zealand first. Maori came later ... and ate them. Moriori are Polynesians, like Maori. They went to live in the Chatham Islands and developed their own culture. Later, Maori invaded the Chatham Islands (Wharekauri or Rekohu).

Myth No 3 We could always throw the Treaty away and simply start again! Both parties to the Treaty would have to agree to this action. Maori say that they would never agree.

Myth No 4 If Maori insist on having their rights, apartheid may well reign. Aotearoa/New Zealand could become what South Africa once was. Apartheid was forced on a people who had no power, by others with power and authority. Maori say they chose to have some separate development, thus helping to keep their culture alive.

Myth No 5 There are lots of other ethnic minorities in Aotearoa/New Zealand. We should be trying to be muticultural instead. Maori are tangata whenua in Aotearoa/New Zealand. NZ is the only country in the world where Maori culture exists. Other ethnic groups coming to NZ know their culture is being kept safe in their homelands e.g. Scotland, China, Tonga, USA, Samoa etc.

Myth No 6 Maori gained far more than they lost from the Treaty. They got all that European technology! The basis of Maori society – land, law, whanau, language – has had to struggle to survive.

Myth No 7 Today Maori are only about 14.6% of the population. Do we need to listen to the Treaty at all? The Treaty was signed by a Crown representative (one person) and Maori rangatira (about 500 people). In 1840 Maori outnumbered the British by at least 50 to 1. The Treaty is not about numbers.

Reference Naumann, R., Harrison, L & Winiata, K. (1990). Te mana o Te Tiriti. The living Treaty. North Shore, NZ: Nelson Cengage Learning.