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Human Rights Commission
Whakarāpopoto | Executive Summary
Maranga Mai! documents the dynamics and impact
of colonisation, racism and white supremacy on Māori
in Aotearoa New Zealand since first contact with
Europeans. This report has been written by Ahi Kaa,
the Indigenous Rights Group, within the Commission
and tangata whenua, within the framework of Te
Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) and is an historical and
phenomenological2 analysis which shines a light on
the impact of racism on tangata whenua in Aotearoa.
Since the signing of Te Tiriti in 1840, tangata
whenua have endured more than 180-years of
colonisation, racism and white supremacy, often
enforced by the rule of law, unjust legislation,
and government sanctioned violence. The
Māori experience of this racism has resulted
in severe marginalisation, disadvantage and
impoverishment over multiple generations.
Maranga Mai! does not seek to cover all the history
of Aotearoa, which would take many volumes.
However, it does seek to raise understanding that
the racism Māori experience is a serious human
and Indigenous rights issue that should be addressed
as a priority by government and society.
Racism against Māori and other peoples cannot
continue without significant negative impacts for
tangata whenua and all New Zealanders.
This report provides a strong rationale and call to
action for the government and New Zealanders to
address racism against Māori. This will require society
accepting what Māori have faced and are still facing
in this country and taking action to resolve it.
Maranga Mai! acknowledges that many other
peoples and cultures also experience racism in
Aotearoa, including Chinese, Indian, Pacific and
African peoples and other Asian, Jewish and Islamic
communities. Migrant communities often come from
lands with parallel histories of colonisation and racism
such as North America, Ireland and India. The report
2.
Phenomenology helps us understand the meaning of people’s lived
experience. A phenomenological analysis focuses on what people
experienced during an event or occurrence.
authors believe that addressing racism against
Māori is central to combatting racism against all
other cultures in Aotearoa.
Methodology - privileging
Māori voices
Maranga Mai! combines evidence-based literature
and research with the first-person testimony of
recognised experts in the field of anti-racism about
the impact of colonisation, white supremacy and
racism on tangata whenua and communities.
This methodology centres and amplifies Māori
voices, memories and experiences, the value of
which lies in documenting lived inter-generational
and cumulative insights of how Māori have
experienced colonisation, racism and white
supremacy (Smith, 2013; Creswell, 2013).
Maranga Mai! adds to this body of evidence the
testimony of experts of the Tangata Whenua Caucus
of the National Anti-Racism Taskforce (2021-2022).
Key interviews were conducted with prominent Māori
scholars and activists, distinguished Professor Linda
Tuhiwai Smith, chair Tina Ngata, Hilda HalkyardHarawira, Dr Rawiri Taonui and Kingi Snelgar, and the
late Dr Moana Jackson.
In the following report, the guiding voices of our
experts are reinforced by the oral testimony of
ancestors, published comments from other Māori and
non-Māori experts, and testimony of tangata whenua,
leaders, experts, tāne, wahine, kaumātua, pakeke and
taiohi over multiple generations.
Who is this report for?
Ahi Kaa and the Tangata Whenua Caucus provide
the report Maranga Mai! to the government and
the Ministry of Justice to guide the development and