Maniapoto receives Crown Apology - Ka whakawhiwhia ki a Ngāti Maniapoto te Whakapāhatanga a te Karauna

Prime Minister Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

Kua tukuna e te Pirimia, e Jacinda Ardern, i te taha o te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti o Waitangi, a Andrew Little, te Whakapāhatanga a te Karauna ki a Ngāti Maniapoto mō āna mahi o mua i takahi i te Tiriti o Waitangi.

I tū te hui i Te Kūiti Pā, he mea whakahaere e Ngāti Maniapoto, ā, e ai ki te whakatau tata e 3000 i tae atu. 

Hei tohu whakamihi ki taua hui hira i tapaina te rā ko 'Te Rangiwaituhi', ā, i huraina e te Pirimia me te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti o Waitangi he tohu whakamahara.

"He rā whakahirahira tēnei ki a Maniapoto me te Karauna, ka mutu ka tohu i te tīmatanga o te hononga kua whakahoutia nei," te kī a Jacinda Ardern.

"E tino pōuri ana te Karauna ki ana takahitanga tini o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka kaha pōuri anō hoki ki ana mahi pakanga whakarihariha, papa kore āno hoki, ki a Ngāti Maniapoto.

"E ū ana te Karauna ki te mahi tahi me koutou i runga i te ngākau pai ki te whakarauora me te whakapakari anō i a Ngāti Maniapoto.

"E tohu ana te whakapāhatanga i tēnei rā i te tīmatanga o te rangapūtanga whakahou i waenga i a Ngāti Maniapoto me te Karauna, e pūtakea mai ana i te whakawhirinaki taharua, te mahi tahi me te whakaute. He rangapūtanga kāore e whakangongo i ngā mahi o mua, engari rawa ka whāki i aua mahi," ko tā Jacinda Ardern.

"Ina haina ngā rangatira o Ngāti Maniapoto i te Tiriti i te tau 1840, ko te tūmanako rā ka waihangatia he rangapūtanga ki te Karauna – he tūmanakohanga i whakakahangia i ngā tau 1880 nā tētahi raupapa whakaaetanga i waenga i te iwi me te Karauna e kīia ana ko te Ōhākī Tapu," hei tā Andrew Little.

"Engari mō te wā neke atu i te kotahi rautau ko tā te Karauna he takatakahi i ngā kī taurangi nāna anō i hanga, ko te mutunga iho ko te nui o te hekenga ā-toto me ngā mahi whakamōtī i te whenua, ko te takaonge pāpori me te ohaoha te hua.

"E tohu ana Te Rangiwaituhi i tētahi rā o te whakarauora, o te whakahoatanga, ā, ka whakakakau i te tīmatanga hou ki te whakatinana i ngā kī taurangi i mahia ki a Ngāti Maniapoto i te 1840. E tūmanako ana ahau ka taea mā tēnei whakapāhatanga te hanga i te tūāpapa mō tetahi rangapūtanga hou hei whakarite i te toiora me te taurikura o Ngāti Maniapoto ki anamata," ko tā Andrew Little.

I tū te hui i muri i tētahi whakanuinga e rua rā te roa mō te huritau kotahi rau e rima tekau mai i te hanganga o te whare tupuna o Te Tokanganui ā-Noho, i hangaia rā e te poropiti Ringatū, e Te Kooti mā Maniapoto, nā ratou ia i tāwharau i te 1872 i muri i ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa.

Kei Te Rohe Pōtae a Ngāti Maniapoto, i ngā takiwā o Te Kūiti, Mōkau, Ōtorohanga, Te Awamutu, me Kāwhia. E toro atu ana tō rātou wāhi whai pānga ki te taiao moana, ki tētahi wāhanga o te rohe ohaoha urukati. Ko te whakatau tata ko tōna 45,930 te tokomaha o Ngāti Maniapoto (e ai ki te tatauranga 2018).

I waituhia te Whakaaetanga whakataunga a Ngāti Maniapoto i Noema 2021, ā, i whakamanahia te Maniapoto Claims Settlement Act, hei ture i Hepetema 2022.

Maniapoto receives Crown Apology

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, alongside Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little, has delivered the Crown Apology to Maniapoto for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi.

The ceremony was held at Te Kūiti Pā, hosted by Ngāti Maniapoto with an estimated 3000 in attendance.

In recognition of the event Maniapoto named today ‘Te Rangiwaituhi’ (Maniapoto Deed of Settlement Ceremony) and The Prime Minister and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister also unveiled a plaque.

“This is a momentous occasion for both Maniapoto and the Crown and marks the beginning of a renewed relationship,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“The Crown is truly sorry for its many breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and profoundly regrets its horrific and needless acts of war against Maniapoto.

“The Crown commits to working with you in good faith to revitalise and rebuild Ngāti Maniapoto.

“Today’s apology represents the beginning of the renewed partnership between Maniapoto and the Crown, based on mutual trust, co-operation and respect. A partnership that doesn’t neglect the past but that acknowledges it,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“When Maniapoto rangatira signed the Treaty in 1840, they expected to build a partnership with the Crown – an expectation reinforced in the 1880s through a series of agreements between the iwi and the Crown called the Ōhākī Tapu,” Andrew Little said.

“But for more than a century after this, the Crown repeatedly broke the promises it made leading to devastating loss of life and land, and social and economic deprivation.

“Te Rangiwaituhi marks a day of restoration, partnership and heralds a new beginning in realising the promises made to Maniapoto in 1840. I hope that through the apology we can lay the groundwork for a new partnership to provide for the future wellbeing and prosperity of Maniapoto,” Andrew Little said.

The ceremony follows a two-day 150th anniversary celebration of the whare tupuna, Te Tokanganui ā-Noho, built in gratitude by Ringatū prophet Te Kooti for Maniapoto who provided him shelter in 1872 following the New Zealand Wars conflicts.

Maniapoto is based in Te Rohe Pōtae (the King Country), in and around Te Kūiti, Mōkau, Ōtorohanga, Te Awamutu, and Kāwhia. Their area of interest extends out to the marine environment and part of the exclusive economic zone. Maniapoto has an estimated population of 45,930 members (2018 census).

The Maniapoto Deed of settlement was signed in November 2021, and the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Act, passed into law September 2022.