Community Engagement Report for developing a National Action Plan Against Racism An example given of moving toward decolonisation would be that: Our whenua is returned, statues and monuments of known colonial racists are removed from every part of Aotearoa, and significant places and sights are regifted their te reo Māori name if this has not already been done. Participants often expressed that eliminating racism was not going to be simple. One participant said: “it’s also difficult because the settler colonial state, New Zealand, was founded upon racist ideals, so it is hard to envision [constitutional transformation] … when the whole framework is racist by its nature.” Connecting with other Indigenous peoples Tangata Whenua believe it is important to connect with other Indigenous peoples from around the world. This would enable them to share experiences of colonisation and build visions for the future for how Aotearoa could decolonise and eliminate racism. Many participants saw the similarities in Indigenous peoples’ experience globally. One participant spoke of wanting more whenua returned not just in Aotearoa but to other Indigenous peoples: “return all our lands & resources back to Māori and all indigenous peoples across the globe”. Another described global connections as an important way of highlighting differences, as well as similarities: I thought that we should start beyond our country. Not start at our country, but start beyond it, and show the connectedness to that vision globally. ... think we should be able to look at our context in relation to the rest of the world and show our uniqueness within that. New Zealand Human Rights Commission 51

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