Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama Tangata Whenua Pou Pou 1: Whakamana Tino Rangatiratanga Empower and restore tino rangatiratanga through constitutional transformation Tangata Whenua participants identified racism as the central issue impeding their ability to develop and exercise tino rangatiratanga (absolute authority and self-determination) which are pre-existing rights set out in te Tiriti and the rights set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration). They described how their existing authority and self-determination as Tangata Whenua has been disrupted through the violent processes of colonisation. This suppressed their mana motuhake (mana through self-determination and control over identity) and exacerbated their past and present experiences of racism and injustice. Tangata Whenua said that empowering and reaffirming tino rangatiratanga was the most effective way to reconcile and restore mana motuhake. It would also help to mitigate the harms caused by racism and to eliminate it for the future. Their visions for tino rangatiratanga were characterised by flourishing self-determined futures for all mokopuna with the full restoration of te reo Māori and connections with whānau, hapū and iwi, te ao Māori and te taiao (the natural world). Tangata Whenua encouraged and challenged the Government – and all New Zealanders – to address and learn about the history, and distil the lessons, of colonial racism in Aotearoa. Māori pointed to te Tiriti and the Declaration as vehicles for addressing the racism experienced by iwi, hapū and whānau. There needed to be constitutional transformation and a rebalancing of power structures between tino rangatiratanga and kāwanatanga (the government) so both are elevated to equal partnership at the constitutional, legislative and policy level. They pointed to He Puapua and Matike Mai Aotearoa reports as providing blueprints and guidance on how to do this. Pou 2: Whakamana Te Tapu o Te Ahurea Tuakiri Empower, decolonise and restore te ao Māori as the first culture of Aotearoa Tangata Whenua recognised the fundamental importance of this pou to the elimination of racism and the re-empowerment and restoration of tangata whenuatanga and te ao Māori as the first culture in Aotearoa. They spoke about the unrelenting state attacks on Māori life. This included their culture, language and histories being disparaged and supplanted by western ideologies through the pervasive, cumulative and intergenerational impacts of more than 180 years of colonisation. Tangata Whenua want the promotion, enhancement and normalisation of cultural expression – te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, and mātauranga Māori - in all aspects of life, so that being Māori is respected and that te reo Māori and tikanga are not tokenistic gestures. Participants wanted to feel free and Te Kāhui Tika Tangata safe to express themselves as Māori in Pākehā spaces without feeling the need to fit in. They were concerned about their children and mokopuna being subjected to racist behaviour. The Plan should signal how government organisations can change to help achieve this. Tangata Whenua also expressed a desire for their histories and art to be more visible including the restoration of original place names that tīpuna gave to their areas and the removal of names associated with their oppression. Diversity and inclusion for all peoples was important alongside understanding and recognition, by New Zealanders, that Māori are the first people of Aotearoa. 12