Māori set out to from Waikato, Aotearoa on November 13, 2024 to join the hikoi.
Photo courtesy of Aniwa Kohu-Morgan
Edmonton, Alberta Canada: The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) affirms its strong support and solidarity with the peaceful march (hīkoi) carried out over 9 days by the Māori of Aotearoa (New Zealand) to defend their rights affirmed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi). It brought together Māori from throughout the country and culminated in Wellington on the 19th of February, 2024, where many thousands gathered in front of the New Zealand Parliament to oppose the recent “Treaty Principles Bill”. This bill proposed to reinterpret and diminish the rights of Māori as affirmed in the Treaty of Waitangi, entered into by 6 Māori chiefs and the British Crown in 1840.
Estimates of the total number of participants range between 50,000 and over 100,000. Marches of solidarity also were held throughout the Pacific and around the world.
“Toitū Te Tiriti is tupuna (elder) inspired, tiriti (Treaty) led, mana motuhake (self-determination) driven and mokopuna (grandchildren) focused. Our intent is to demonstrate the beginning of a unified Aotearoa in response to the Government’s assault on tangata whenua (the People of the land) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi)” said Aniwa Kohu-Morgan, Māori member of the IITC Board of Directors representing the organization Te Whanua o te Rau Aroha. “Toitū Te Tiriti is a revolution, our voices will be heard” she concluded.
IITC Board President Ron Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, represents Treaties 1-11, comprised of over 240 Distinct Treaty Nation Governments in what is today known as Canada, on IITC’s Board of Directors. He confirmed IITC’s strong support for the Māori hīkoi: “In this unified action, the Māori are standing up for all Treaty Nations around the world. If New Zealand is allowed to undermine the Treaty of Waitangi, the Canadian government could be next to try to undermine their sacred obligations under our Treaties, which we agreed would last “as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow”, in other words as long as our Peoples are on Turtle Island, forever. IITC and Treaties 1-11 stand in strong and unbreakable solidarity with our Māori brothers and sisters who have taken up this struggle in support of their Treaty rights. We call upon all Indigenous Peoples of the world to join them in this spirit and to support their call for rights and justice.
For more Information contact: [email protected]
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INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE MAORI HĪKOI
Māori set out to from Waikato, Aotearoa on November 13, 2024 to join the hikoi.
Photo courtesy of Aniwa Kohu-Morgan
Edmonton, Alberta Canada: The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) affirms its strong support and solidarity with the peaceful march (hīkoi) carried out over 9 days by the Māori of Aotearoa (New Zealand) to defend their rights affirmed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi). It brought together Māori from throughout the country and culminated in Wellington on the 19th of February, 2024, where many thousands gathered in front of the New Zealand Parliament to oppose the recent “Treaty Principles Bill”. This bill proposed to reinterpret and diminish the rights of Māori as affirmed in the Treaty of Waitangi, entered into by 6 Māori chiefs and the British Crown in 1840.
Estimates of the total number of participants range between 50,000 and over 100,000. Marches of solidarity also were held throughout the Pacific and around the world.
“Toitū Te Tiriti is tupuna (elder) inspired, tiriti (Treaty) led, mana motuhake (self-determination) driven and mokopuna (grandchildren) focused. Our intent is to demonstrate the beginning of a unified Aotearoa in response to the Government’s assault on tangata whenua (the People of the land) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi)” said Aniwa Kohu-Morgan, Māori member of the IITC Board of Directors representing the organization Te Whanua o te Rau Aroha. “Toitū Te Tiriti is a revolution, our voices will be heard” she concluded.
IITC Board President Ron Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, represents Treaties 1-11, comprised of over 240 Distinct Treaty Nation Governments in what is today known as Canada, on IITC’s Board of Directors. He confirmed IITC’s strong support for the Māori hīkoi: “In this unified action, the Māori are standing up for all Treaty Nations around the world. If New Zealand is allowed to undermine the Treaty of Waitangi, the Canadian government could be next to try to undermine their sacred obligations under our Treaties, which we agreed would last “as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow”, in other words as long as our Peoples are on Turtle Island, forever. IITC and Treaties 1-11 stand in strong and unbreakable solidarity with our Māori brothers and sisters who have taken up this struggle in support of their Treaty rights. We call upon all Indigenous Peoples of the world to join them in this spirit and to support their call for rights and justice.
For more Information contact: [email protected]