The waves of colonisation that came up against the rocks of resistance

22/11/2024

When we examine Aotearoa New Zealand, through the lens of its institutions, we see a remarkable pattern of action and response between the Crown and Māori that continues to shape our nation.

This narrative begins in 1840, but its echoes resonate powerfully in today’s political landscape.

In the initial Te Tiriti period (1840-1860), the Crown attempted a delicate balancing act. While officially establishing sovereignty over itself through Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown maintained a facade of partnership. Meanwhile, the institutions of Te Ao Māori demonstrated remarkable pragmatism, maintaining practical autonomy in most regions while strategically engaging with the Crown when it served their interests. This period saw the development of new forms of inter-tribal cooperation, with most tribes continuing to exercise full rangatiratanga.

The Crown facade crumbled during the period of Military Colonisation (1860-1872). The Crown launched military campaigns to assert substantive sovereignty, implementing widespread land confiscations (raupatu). In response, the institutions of Te Ao Māori developed sophisticated military and political resistance strategies, including the Kīngitanga movement, establishing autonomous zones and maintaining independent governance in many regions despite military pressure.

The Legal-Administrative Colonisation phase (1870s-1890s) saw the Crown shift tactics, implementing the Native Land Court system and introducing “official runanga” to fragment tribal authority. The institutions of Te Ao Māori responded with remarkable political innovation, creating the Kotahitanga (Unity) movement and Māori Parliament, demonstrating their ability to develop parallel governance structures.

Progressive Assimilation (1900-1920) brought the Māori Councils Act 1900 and the Native Land Act 1909 under the guise of reform. The Young Māori Party, led by Āpirana Ngata, showed remarkable political acumen, working within the system while protecting tribal interests. Tribes maintained autonomous committees alongside official structures, refusing to be fully absorbed into the colonial framework.

During the Religious-Political Resistance period (1920-1935), the Crown attempted to suppress independent Māori religious-political movements. Te Ao Māori responded with the Rātana movement, demonstrating Māori’s capacity to forge new forms of spiritual-political organisation. These autonomous religious-political structures persist to this day despite Crown opposition.

The Social Democratic Integration phase (1935-1945) saw Labour’s welfare state policies attempt to contain rangatiratanga. Māori responded with a strategic alliance between Rātana and Labour while maintaining independent organisational structures. This period demonstrated remarkable political sophistication in balancing engagement and autonomy.

Wartime Autonomy (1939-1945) created an interesting dynamic. The Crown’s dependence on Māori support for the war effort led to the highly successful Māori War Effort Organisation, which re-demonstrated Te Ao Māori capacity for autonomous administration. This platform was skillfully used to advance broader aspirations for self-determination.

Post-War Suppression (1945-1950) saw the Crown attempt to contain Māori autonomy through the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. In response, the institutions of Te Ao Māori strategically utilised the welfare officer system and tribal committees while developing new autonomous organisations, particularly women’s committees and welfare leagues that endure to this day.

The Urban Adaptation period (Late 1940s onward) revealed the Crown’s hope that urbanisation would accelerate assimilation. Instead, Māori demonstrated remarkable adaptability by establishing urban marae and pan-tribal organisations, effectively translating traditional organisational forms into urban environments while maintaining connections to tribal homelands. These organisations became the foundation for Whānau Ora and various Iwi and Māori social and health providers.

The Renaissance Period (1970s-1985) saw initial Crown resistance to Māori language revitalisation and continued assimilationist policies through “integration.” Te Ao Māori responded with transformative initiatives like Te Ātaarangi language movement, Kōhanga Reo, and Tū Tangata programs. The establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975 came after sustained Māori pressure.

During the Bicultural Reform Era (1985-2000), the Crown introduced reforms recognizing te reo Māori as an official language and expanded Tribunal jurisdiction. Māori established Kura Kaupapa Māori, Wānanga, and expanded tribal economic bases, beginning Treaty settlements while maintaining pressure for greater autonomy.

The Treaty Settlement Phase (2000-2015) saw the Crown focus on negotiating tribal settlements within strict parameters while struggling to maintain consistent Māori outcome policies*. Tribes strategically engaged with the settlement process while developing modern corporate structures and maintaining traditional governance. Many successfully leveraged settlements to build significant economic and cultural resources while continuing to assert rangatiratanga.

In the Post-Settlement Transformation (2015-present), the Crown has attempted to contain Māori aspirations within a “post-settlement” framework. The Māori response has been a growing assertion of tino rangatiratanga through initiatives like Whānau Ora, independent COVID-19 responses, and increased calls for constitutional transformation.

The latest wave (2023-present) has seen the Crown begin an extensive programme of removing Te Ao Māori institutional rights and aspirations under the rhetoric of opposing “special privileges.” While the whole arc of the Te Ao Māori response is still unfolding, what’s particularly remarkable is how Te Ao Māori has set the agenda rather than simply responding to Crown initiatives and how much political capital is being burned in the attempt to assimilate Māori people and deny rangatiratanga.

This narrative reveals a profound truth: each wave of settler-state colonialism and attempts at control has prompted increasingly sophisticated forms of Māori resistance and adaptation. Rather than a simple story of dominance and resistance, we see a complex political negotiation process in which the institutions of Te Ao Māori have consistently maintained and evolved their autonomous organisational capacity. At the same time, the state has struggled to adapt.

The persistence of rangatiratanga through these waves demonstrates remarkable political resilience and institutional adaptability. Even when faced with overwhelming state power, Te Ao Māori have consistently maintained their collective identity and autonomous institutional capacity, often repurposing instruments of colonisation into tools for empowerment.

This ongoing dialectic continues to shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s institutional landscape, demonstrating that Iwi, Hapū, Whānau, Whanui, Hapori, and Māori institutions have agency and autonomy, and that has remained constant since 1840: it is clear that innovative forms of political, institutional, and organised resistance have met each state intervention.

*The public policy frames shifting from cultural safety to Māori responsiveness to Ka Awatea and Overseeing Achievement to Closing the Gaps to Capacity Building, to Reducing Inequalities, to Opportunities for All, to Māori Potential, to Whānau Ora, to Poverty Reduction to We Are All One People. This has occurred over the last 20 years, with no frame lasting longer than four years.