Becoming Tangata Tiriti
type: CreativeWork
description: Decolonisation is critical to addressing socio-ecological crises driven by colonial beliefs of supremacy and exploitation. The visionary intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) created a Relational Edge between Māori and non-Māori where interests converge, governance necessarily overlaps, and the potential for mutually beneficial exchanges lie. The historical dishonouring of Te Tiriti by non-Māori has led to widespread Māori land dispossession, cultural erasure and structural violence in the Relational Edge. This thesis seeks to understand how becoming tangata tiriti is an essential decolonising process which may enable and empower non-Māori to show up equitably within vibrant Te Tiriti partnerships that can ensure our collective descendants inherit a world of vitality. The decolonisation of non-Māori and becoming tangata tiriti remain relatively unclear and undiscussed. While many non-Māori remain resistant and largely disengaged, Māori are leading conversations about decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand which rightfully focus on Māori reclamation, revitalisation and realisation of rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and mātauranga Māori. Simultaneously Māori are leading shifts at the level of State decolonisation and constitutional transformation. There are robust conversations about ethical engagement of non-Māori in kaupapa Māori spaces and Indigenous-led research, however, there is little discussion about non-Māori ethical practice on a day-to-day basis outside of research. This thesis looks to Māori and Indigenous leadership for guidance to stimulate widespread equitable engagement from non-Māori in the work of decolonisation at the personal and community level. As non-Māori recognise, understand and address their Te Tiriti complicity in coloniality, there is an increasing drive for non-Māori decolonisation with little supporting literature, research or practice frameworks. As a non-Māori Edgewalking practitioner who intentionally works in the complex and unsettled …
abstract: Decolonisation is critical to addressing socio-ecological crises driven by colonial beliefs of supremacy and exploitation. The visionary intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) created a Relational Edge between Māori and non-Māori where interests converge, governance necessarily overlaps, and the potential for mutually beneficial exchanges lie. The historical dishonouring of Te Tiriti by non-Māori has led to widespread Māori land dispossession, cultural erasure and structural violence in the Relational Edge. This thesis seeks to understand how becoming tangata tiriti is an essential decolonising process which may enable and empower non-Māori to show up equitably within vibrant Te Tiriti partnerships that can ensure our collective descendants inherit a world of vitality. The decolonisation of non-Māori and becoming tangata tiriti remain relatively unclear and undiscussed. While many non-Māori remain resistant and largely disengaged, Māori are leading conversations about decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand which rightfully focus on Māori reclamation, revitalisation and realisation of rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and mātauranga Māori. Simultaneously Māori are leading shifts at the level of State decolonisation and constitutional transformation. There are robust conversations about ethical engagement of non-Māori in kaupapa Māori spaces and Indigenous-led research, however, there is little discussion about non-Māori ethical practice on a day-to-day basis outside of research. This thesis looks to Māori and Indigenous leadership for guidance to stimulate widespread equitable engagement from non-Māori in the work of decolonisation at the personal and community level. As non-Māori recognise, understand and address their Te Tiriti complicity in coloniality, there is an increasing drive for non-Māori decolonisation with little supporting literature, research or practice frameworks. As a non-Māori Edgewalking practitioner who intentionally works in the complex and unsettled …
author: Hursthouse, David
language: en
keywords: decolonisation, edgewalking, tangata tiriti, ethical practice, autoethnography, critical settler family history, resistance scholarship
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:28:17Z
provider: Otago Polytechnic
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Otago Polytechnic | Te Pūkenga

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6740