Tension without tikanga: the damaging face of the treaty claims settlement system

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the arrival of imperial ideologies in the 19th century led to devastating land-loss and cultural marginalisation for Maori at the hands of settlers and successive governments. This article examines the damaging effects of a Crown-imposed treaty claims settlement system designed to address injustices inflicted on Maori. Interview data from a Taranaki-based (a West Coast region, central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand) hapu (sub-tribe) that engaged with this system foreground the adversarial nature of this system and its continuation of trauma. We argue that, while the process provides voice to Maori, it does so within a paradigm that pits kin-groups against each other, unjustly limits redress and fails to resolve tension. A tikanga framing provides insights into how tensions are set up and ways tikanga (underlying values and principles that guide practice) can be used outside the redress system to seek healing and resolution.

Automated summary

This article discusses the injustices suffered by Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand following the arrival of imperial ideologies in the 19th century, and analyzes the damaging effects of a Crown-imposed treaty claims settlement system on Maori. Interview data from a hapu in Taranaki highlight the adversarial nature of this system and its continuation of trauma.