Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori language term that translates literally to 'highest chieftainship' or 'unqualified chieftainship', but is also translated as "absolute sovereignty" or "self-determination," is central to Māori political aspirations. Many Māori advocate for tino rangatiratanga as a way to restore Māori control over their lands, resources, and cultural institutions. [1] [2] The very translation of tino rangatiratanga is important to New Zealand politics, as it is used in the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi to express "full exclusive and undisturbed possession" over Māori-owned lands and property, but different translations have drastically different implications for the relationship between the 1840 signatories: the British Crown and the Māori chiefs ( rangatira ). [a]
It has become one of the most contentious phrases in retrospective analyses of the treaty amid debate surrounding the obligations that were agreed to by each signatory. [4] [5] The phrase features in current historical and political discourse on race relations in New Zealand and is widely used by Māori advocacy groups.
One of the foundational examples of Māori assertions of sovereignty is He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (The Declaration of Independence, 1835). Signed by northern Māori chiefs, this document affirmed Māori sovereignty over New Zealand and continues to be referenced, particularly by Ngāpuhi, as a basis for Māori independence. For example, groups like Ngāti Hine have expressed interest in pursuing greater autonomy or hapū-level independence. Activists such as Donna Awatere Huata have also advanced the cause of self-determination, envisioning full independence in works like Māori Sovereignty.
A tino rangatiratanga flag was designed in 1989 and has become accepted as a national flag for Māori groups across New Zealand. [6] The Tino Rangatiratanga flag has become a prominent symbol of sovereignty, often seen during protests. In some instances, these protests include explicit calls for Māori independence and the rejection of New Zealand government authority. Small radical groups, such as Nga Iwi Morehu, have echoed these sentiments, drawing on findings like the Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 1040 report, which asserts that Māori never ceded sovereignty under the Treaty of Waitangi.
A rangatira is a chief, the nominalising suffix -tanga makes the word an abstract noun referring to the quality or attributes of chieftainship. The word is also translated as 'chiefly autonomy', or 'kingdom', referencing the 'chiefly authority' and domain of the chief. [7]
Tino is used as an intensifier, indicating that something is true, genuine or unrivalled. [8] The addition in this context means the phrase can be translated as 'highest chieftainship'. [9] : 314
The intention of the phrase was to "emphasize to a chief the Queen's intention to give the complete control according to their customs". [9] : 319 One English translation is 'absolute sovereignty', although many also refer to it as self-determination, [10] autonomy, [11] or Māori independence.
The emphasis on tino rangatiratanga draws from an inconsistency arising between Article 1 and Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi:
Based on the Māori text alone, in Article 1, the signatories appear to be granting kawanatanga, and in Article 2, the signatories are promised that their tino rangatiratanga ('absolutely sovereignty' or 'highest chieftainship') would remain undisturbed. The apparent inconsistency led to much debate as to whether the Māori signatories intended to cede their sovereignty to the British Crown at all: a debate now definitively resolved by the Waitangi Tribunal finding that sovereignty was not and could not be ceded. [12]
The original Māori text of article two with a literal translation by Professor I. H. Kawharu, as published in the Report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy in 1988 (bold added): [13]
Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu – ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa. | The Queen of England agrees to protect the Chiefs, the subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures. |
The tino rangatiratanga flag is often referred to as the national Māori flag [14] and can be used to represent all Māori.[ citation needed ] Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn designed the flag in 1989. [15] It uses black, white, and red as national colours of New Zealand. The design of the flag references the Māori creation story of Rangi and Papa, suggesting the sky, the earth, and the physical realm of light and being, which was created when they were separated. [16]
The Treaty of Waitangi, sometimes referred to as Te Tiriti, is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori people in New Zealand by successive governments and the wider population, something that has been especially prominent from the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain William Hobson as consul for the British Crown and by Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand. The treaty's quasi-legal status satisfies the demands of biculturalism in contemporary New Zealand society. In general terms, it is interpreted today as having established a partnership between equals in a way the Crown likely did not intend it to in 1840. Specifically, the treaty is seen, first, as entitling Māori to enjoyment of land and of natural resources and, if that right were ever breached, to restitution. Second, the treaty's quasi-legal status has clouded the question of whether Māori had ceded sovereignty to the Crown in 1840, and if so, whether such sovereignty remains intact.
Taonga or taoka is a Māori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current definition differs from the historical one, noted by Hongi Hika as "property procured by the spear" [one could understand this as war booty or defended property] and is now interpreted to mean a wide range of both tangible and intangible possessions, especially items of historical cultural significance.
Kāwanatanga is a word in the Māori language of New Zealand, derived from the English word "governor". Kāwanatanga was first used in the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, 1835. Kāwanatanga reappeared in 1840 in Article 1 of the Treaty of Waitangi, where the Māori text "te Kawanatanga katoa" corresponds to the English text "all the rights and powers of Sovereignty".
The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, sometimes referred to as He Whakaputanga, is a document signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
Māori politics is the politics of the Māori people, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority.
In Māori culture, rangatira are tribal chiefs, the leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that of other tribes. Changes to land-ownership laws in the 19th century, particularly the individualisation of land title, undermined the power of rangatira, as did the widespread loss of land under the Euro-settler-oriented government of the Colony of New Zealand from 1841 onwards. The concepts of rangatira and rangatiratanga (chieftainship), however, remain strong, and a return to rangatiratanga and the uplifting of Māori by the rangatiratanga system has been widely advocated for since the Māori renaissance began c. 1970. Moana Jackson, Ranginui Walker and Tipene O'Regan figure among the most notable of these advocates.
Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governments have increasingly provided formal legal and political opportunity for Māori to seek redress for what are seen as breaches by the Crown of guarantees set out in the Treaty of Waitangi. While it has resulted in putting to rest a number of significant longstanding grievances, the process has been subject to criticisms including those who believe that the redress is insufficient to compensate for Māori losses. The settlements are typically seen as part of a broader Māori Renaissance.
The United Tribes of New Zealand was a confederation of Māori tribes based in the north of the North Island, existing legally from 1835 to 1840. It received diplomatic recognition from the United Kingdom, which shortly thereafter proclaimed the foundation of the Colony of New Zealand upon the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous rights movement in New Zealand. While there was a range of conflicts between Māori and European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing provided one reason for protesting. Disagreements in the decades following the signing sometimes included war.
MokaKainga-mataa [Te Kaingamataa/Te Kaingamata/Te Kainga-mata/Te Kainga-mataa] (1790s–1860s) was a Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngā Puhi iwi from Northland in New Zealand. He was distinguished in war and an intelligent participant in the Treaty of Waitangi process.
The Colony of New Zealand was a colony of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that encompassed the islands of New Zealand. The colony was proclaimed by its British settler population in 1841, and lasted until 1907, when the Dominion of New Zealand was established. The sovereignty of Britain over the islands was initially nominal, before becoming substantive upon the conclusion of the New Zealand Wars, after which Māori sovereignty was essentially overcome. The power of the British Government was vested in the governor of New Zealand. The colony had three successive capitals: Okiato in 1841; Auckland from 1841 to 1865; and Wellington from 1865, which continues as the capital of New Zealand today.
The principles of the Treaty of Waitangi is a set of principles derived from, and interpreting, the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed in New Zealand in 1840. The phrase "principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" was first used in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, and the principles were codified in 1987. There is no final list and they are determined on a case-by-case basis. They include the three Ps: partnership, participation and protection of rangatiratanga.
The ethnic Māori flag, also known as the Tino Rangatiratanga flag in reference to the concept of tino rangatiratanga, is used to represent the ethnic identity some of the descendants of precolonial native people of the territory that later became New Zealand. In 2009, the Tino Rangatiratanga flag was selected as the ethnic Māori flag after a nationwide consultation. It was first revealed on Waitangi Day in 1990. Though it does not have official status from the New Zealand Government, it has been used by the government on official occasions.
Ana Hamu was a Māori woman of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) in northern New Zealand. She was a woman of high rank. Hamu was closely related to Eruera Maihi Patuone.
Mana motuhake is a phrase in the Māori language that means self determination, with the principle being autonomy and control. It is sometimes translated to the concept of sovereignty.
The flag now known as the flag of theUnited Tribes of New Zealand or Te Kara is a flag originally designed by Henry Williams to represent the New Zealand Church Missionary Society. It was adopted as a national flag by a group of rangatira in 1834 and is today more closely associated with the Māori people.
The Treaty Principles Bill, or the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, is a government bill promoted by David Seymour of the ACT New Zealand party. It aims to define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Prior to the 2023 New Zealand general election, ACT had campaigned against the Sixth Labour Government's co-governance policies and advocated a binding referendum on co-governance.
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti were hīkoi protests in New Zealand against the Treaty Principles Bill that occurred from 10 November to 19 November 2024. The bill would redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
It was designed in 1990 by Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn, and was the winning design in a national contest to find a "Māori Flag".