‘It’s time to reflect on Te Tiriti’

In a year when Te Tiriti o Waitangi is being attacked and debated, Dr Hana O’Regan (Awarua, Moeraki) believes Matariki is the perfect time to unpick the challenges of the past that continue to be felt today.

Last Wednesday evening, Hana shared her whakaaro and personal experiences with Te Tiriti and Te Kerēme, the Ngāi Tahu Claim, to a crowd of mostly Tangata Tiriti at Matatiki Toi Ora, The Christchurch Arts Centre.

“What better time to have these kinds of conversations where we can actually say, yes, it’s been hard for generations…but how exciting that we can find the strength and heart, and the goodness of people to really start planning and envisioning a future that can be more positive.”

Hana’s kōrero was one of four events held in Ōtautahi last week as part of Feast Matariki, Eat New Zealand’s annual festival delivered in partnership with Ngāi Tahu whānau.

As attendees snacked on delicious kai, Hana outlined the Treaty and the injustices her tīpuna experienced. She says the more conversations we can have with Tangata Tiriti to challenge societal misconceptions, the better.

“We're in a situation where the lives that we live within wider society are influenced every day, every moment of the day, by the perceptions and the stories that get spoken about us [Māori].

“We need to be creating spaces to have conversations that challenge those narratives, which aren't based on truth, they aren't based in history. And they've been deliberately constructed to present a really biased view of Māori, of our people.”

Her kōrero described injustices after the signing of Te Tiriti that resulted in a country where Ngāi Tahu and Māori katoa were alienated from their whenua. In a single generation they became an impoverished and starving people stuck in a system that was designed to put them on the back foot.

“Our marae, at Moeraki, has an urupā just for the children because of how many babies were dying.”

Hana says the intergenerational narratives New Zealanders have been exposed to have been created to support the inequities Māori continue to experience.

“It's hard to hear the things which hurt, and our history has hurt us. But the real concern for me is that we're allowing history to repeat.

“We continue to create harm by not being brave enough to have those conversations and to challenge the systems, the policies and behaviors which allow the perpetuation of those actions.”

With photos and images, Hana described the impact of those actions to her audience. Angry letters, racial slogans graffitied on billboards, carvings desecrated. With emotion she recalled racism her own whānau had experienced.

Hana is mindful that most people aren’t aware of New Zealand’s true history. She recalls a conversation with her father, Tā Tipene O’Regan, 30 years earlier when he told her, “If you only know what they only know you’d probably think the same.”

Her hope is that those attending her kōrero continue these conversations.

“Part of the challenge is finding the people who can be your allies…we can be stronger together.

“We need the courage to roll up our sleeves and question the narratives we have about ourselves and others, our history, practices, and beliefs.

“So hopefully the people that came out today might be able to connect with other people and create that community and get some extra strength to help take the challenge a bit further than they might have done otherwise by themselves.”