Deepening our understanding of the Treaty relationship
A reflection from listening to the Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu claim to the Waitangi Tribunal Susan Healy (Pākehā) My ideas about the Treaty relationship were expanded when, in 2010 and 2011, I attended the hearing of the Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu claim to the Waitangi Tribunal ‒ which focussed on what their tūpuna intended in committing to He Whakputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (1835) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840). We heard there a view of this country’s history that is radically different from commonly-available writing, which is heavily dependent on settler interpretations. The Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu scholars started with their hapū’s history in the land ‒ a history informed by a profound philosophy, spirituality and the tikanga underlying traditional political and economic arrangements. We gained a real insight into what the hapū expected from the Treaty relationship. As a contributor to Ngāpuhi Speaks , the independent report on the Ngāpuhi Nui Tonu hearing, I had to assess what the evidence mean