- Ngā Tamatoa
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Ngā Tamatoa (The Warriors) was a Māori activist group that operated from the early 1970s until 1979, and existed to fight for Maori rights, land and culture as well as confront injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand Government, particularly violations of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Nga Tamatoa emerged out of a conference at the University of Auckland organised by academic and historian Ranginui Walker. The group consisted of mainly urban and university educated Māori who took offense at the continuing confiscation of land and degradation of the Maori language. The group took inspiration from liberation and indigenous movements across the world, including the Black Panthers, Australian Aborigines and independence movements in the Pacific Islands.
Contents
Notable members
Members of the Nga Tamatoa included health worker and activist Tame Iti, Ted Nia, actor Rawiri Paratene, writers/directors/producers Larry Parr and Barry Barclay, and Syd Jackson.
Maori Language
In September 1972, Nga Tamatoa presented a petition with more than 30,000 signatures to the Crown to have the Maori language taught at schools.[1] Other initiatives by the organisation helped to enforce real social and political changes in New Zealand which has seen the establishment of Maori language nests 'Kohanga Reo' and 'Kura Kaupapa.' In 1987, the Maori Language Act was passed by the New Zealand Government, giving Te Reo Maori (Maori language) official language status.
1975 Land March
Nga Tamatoa were also instrumental in organising the historic 1975 Land March, led by Dame Whina Cooper from the top of New Zealand's North Island to Parliament in Wellington. Following the land march, Nga Tamatoa staged a 'Tent Embassy' by camping on Parliament grounds in Wellington, demanding immediate action on land march issues.[2]
He Taua 1979
One of the incidents the organisation was involved in was breaking up the University of Auckland haka party an annual event where engineering students would parody the Maori haka, by painting male genitals on their body and performing with sexually obscene gestures.[3] This act was mainly organised by a group of Maori and Pacific Island students, called He Taua 'War Party.' Following a violent confrontation with the engineering students, where several students were assaulted, members of He Taua were arrested. Their court case in Auckland sparked anti-racism protests outside the courthouse. Members of He Taua included Hone Harawira, now a Member of Parliament, his wife Hilda Halkyard Harawira and Ben Dalton.[4] Hone Harawira's mother Titewhai Harawira was a founding member of Nga Tamatoa.
Treaty of Waitangi
Nga Tamatoa initiated the annual protests at Waitangi on Waitangi Day, in 1973 after Prime Minister Norman Kirk changed the name of the day to 'New Zealand Day'. The group claimed that the "Treaty is a fraud" because of the ongoing breaches committed by the Government. Nga Tamatoa wore black armbands to the celebrations to mourn the loss of Maori land much of which had been confiscated or annexed by state legislation. The Auckland Maori Council declared their support of the protest by making a submission that cited fourteen statutes that were currently breaching the Treaty.
List of Nga Tamatoa members
References
- ^ http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=gMv7fFg8AJIC&pg=PA177&lpg=PA177&dq=Nga+Tamatoa&source=bl&ots=mIqXXpOchW&sig=HlK8XXEjRwmt2tj3wNEGsWw_3ds&hl=en&ei=ZpCzSsqwDIfiswOW7v3RDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#v=onepage&q=Nga%20Tamatoa&f=false
- ^ http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=49AF06E3-FBCB-45C5-9E97-2C2044B558C2&chapter=60
- ^ "Mocked haka proved a turning point". One News. 1 May 2009. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2694643. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:as3FTmtvJB0J:www.filmarchive.org.nz/education/OnDisc%2520PDF/RaceRelations_P3.pdf+He+Taua&hl=en&gl=nz
- Ranginui Walker, Nga Tau Tohetohe-Years of Anger, Auckland, 1987
- Ranginui Walker, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou-Struggle Without End, Auckland, 1990
- Aroha Harris, Hikoi: Forty years of Maori Protest, Auckland, 2004
External links
Categories:- History of New Zealand
- Treaty of Waitangi
- Race relations in New Zealand
- Māori politics
- Māori organisations
- Māori history
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