New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delivered a Crown apology to a Maori tribe for warmongering and breaches to the Treaty of Waitangi.
The apology, which Ardern described as a “momentous occasion”, was 30 years in the making and culminated in the government agreeing to a $NZ165 million redress and the return of 36 culturally significant sites.
Ardern delivered the formal address in both Maori and English, saying the Crown regrets its needless acts of war against Maniapoto and the hurt it has caused. About 3000 people were in attendance to hear the apology.
“This is a momentous occasion for both Maniapoto and the Crown and marks the beginning of a renewed relationship,” Ardern said at the apology ceremony.
“The Crown is truly sorry for its many breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and profoundly regrets its horrific and needless acts of war against Maniapoto.
“The Crown commits to working with you in good faith to revitalise and rebuild Ngāti Maniapoto.
“Today’s apology represents the beginning of the renewed partnership between Maniapoto and the Crown, based on mutual trust, co-operation and respect. A partnership that doesn’t neglect the past but that acknowledges it.”
Maniapoto is based in Te Rohe Pōtae (the King Country) and has an estimated population of 45,930 members, according to the 2018 census.
The apology acknowledges the Crown breached the treaty by confiscating land, acting unjustly by sending Crown forces across the Mangatāwhiri River during the Waikato War, indisciminatey killing non-combatants and looting and destroying property. It also acknowledges the Crown failed to protect Maniapoto tribal structures from the operation and impact of the Native land laws, leading to alienation of the tribal lands Maniapoto had been connected to for centuries.
The Maniapoto Deed of settlement was signed in November 2021.
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said he hoped the apology could lay the groundwork for partnership going forward.
“When Maniapoto rangatira signed the Treaty in 1840, they expected to build a partnership with the Crown – an expectation reinforced in the 1880s through a series of agreements between the iwi and the Crown called the Ōhākī Tapu,” Little said.
“But for more than a century after this, the Crown repeatedly broke the promises it made leading to devastating loss of life and land, and social and economic deprivation.
“Te Rangiwaituhi marks a day of restoration, partnership and heralds a new beginning in realising the promises made to Maniapoto in 1840. I hope that through the apology we can lay the groundwork for a new partnership to provide for the future wellbeing and prosperity of Maniapoto.”