Nga Tamatoa
Encyclopedia
Ngā Tamatoa was a Māori activist group that operated from the early 1970s until 1979, and existed to fight for Maori rights, land and culture as well as confront injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand Government, particularly violations of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....

.

Nga Tamatoa emerged out of a conference at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

 organised by academic and historian Ranginui Walker
Ranginui Walker
Ranginui Joseph Isaac Walker, DCNZM is a Māori academic and writer living in New Zealand. He was educated at St Peter's Maori College, Auckland, Auckland Teachers' Training College and Auckland University. Walker is a member of the Whakatōhea tribe of Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty. Walker was a...

. The group consisted of mainly urban and university educated Māori who took offense at the continuing confiscation of land and degradation of the Maori language. The group took inspiration from liberation and indigenous movements across the world, including the Black Panthers, Australian Aborigines and independence movements in the Pacific Islands.

Notable members

Members of the Nga Tamatoa included health worker and activist Tame Iti
Tame Iti
Tāme Wairere Iti has become well known in New Zealand as a Tūhoe Māori activist.- Early life :Born on a train near Rotorua, Tame Iti grew up with his grandparents in the custom known as whāngai on a farm near Ruatoki in the Urewera area of New Zealand...

, Ted Nia, actor Rawiri Paratene
Rawiri Paratene
-Biography:Born in Hokianga, Paratene is from the Maori iwi of Nga Puhi. Paratene has appeared in a large number of television, stage and film roles. He is also a theatrical director and writer for film, television and theatre...

, writers/directors/producers Larry Parr
Larry Parr
Lawrence "Larry" Parr was a chess player, author and editor.Born in 1946 and originally from Bothell, Washington, Parr served from 1985 to 1988 as editor of Chess Life magazine, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation. Later, Parr was the editor of Glasnost magazine, an...

 and Barry Barclay
Barry Barclay
Barry Barclay, MNZM was a New Zealand filmmaker and writer of Maori and Pākehā descent.-Background:...

, and Syd Jackson
Syd Jackson (New Zealand)
Syd Jackson was a prominent Māori activist, trade unionist and leader.Syd Jackson, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent, first came to prominence at the University of Auckland, where he gained an MA. He was the chairman of the Māori Students Association, and then was a founder of Ngā Tamatoa...

.

Maori Language

In September 1972, Nga Tamatoa presented a petition with more than 30,000 signatures to the Crown to have the Maori language taught at schools. Other initiatives by the organisation helped to enforce real social and political changes in New Zealand which has seen the establishment of Maori language nests 'Kohanga Reo' and 'Kura Kaupapa.' In 1987, the Maori Language Act
Maori Language Act
The Māori Language Act 1987 was a piece of legislation passed by the New Zealand Parliament. It gave Te Reo Māori official language status, and gave speakers a right to use it in legal settings such as in court...

 was passed by the New Zealand Government, giving Te Reo Maori (Maori language) official language status.

1975 Land March

Nga Tamatoa were also instrumental in organising the historic 1975 Land March, led by Dame Whina Cooper
Whina Cooper
Dame Whina Cooper ONZ DBE , was born Hohewhina Te Wake, daughter of Heremia Te Wake of the Te Rarawa iwi, at Te Karaka, Hokianga,...

 from the top of New Zealand's North Island to Parliament in Wellington. Following the land march, Nga Tamatoa staged a 'Tent Embassy' by camping on Parliament grounds in Wellington, demanding immediate action on land march issues.

He Taua 1979

One of the incidents the organisation was involved in was breaking up the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

 haka
Haka
Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...

 party
an annual event where engineering students would parody the Maori haka, by painting male genitals on their body and performing with sexually obscene gestures. This act was mainly organised by a group of Maori and Pacific Island students, called He Taua 'War Party.' Following a violent confrontation with the engineering students, where several students were assaulted, members of He Taua were arrested. Their court case in Auckland sparked anti-racism protests outside the courthouse. Members of He Taua included Hone Harawira
Hone Harawira
Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and parliamentarian. He was elected to the Parliament of New Zealand for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in the 2005 general election as the Māori Party candidate. His resignation caused the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, held...

, now a Member of Parliament, his wife Hilda Halkyard Harawira and Ben Dalton. Hone Harawira's mother Titewhai Harawira was a founding member of Nga Tamatoa.

Treaty of Waitangi

Nga Tamatoa initiated the annual protests at Waitangi
Waitangi, Northland
For the main port and settlement at the Chatham Islands, see Waitangi, Chatham IslandsWaitangi is a township located in the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the town of Paihia , 60 kilometres north of Whangarei...

 on Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day commemorates a significant day in the history of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840.-History:...

, in 1973 after Prime Minister Norman Kirk
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk was the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He led the Parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. He was the fourth Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, but the first to be born in New Zealand...

 changed the name of the day to 'New Zealand Day'. The group claimed that the "Treaty is a fraud" because of the ongoing breaches committed by the Government. Nga Tamatoa wore black armbands to the celebrations to mourn the loss of Maori land much of which had been confiscated or annexed by state legislation. The Auckland Maori Council declared their support of the protest by making a submission that cited fourteen statutes that were currently breaching the Treaty.

List of Nga Tamatoa members

  • Barry Barclay
    Barry Barclay
    Barry Barclay, MNZM was a New Zealand filmmaker and writer of Maori and Pākehā descent.-Background:...

  • Tame Iti
    Tame Iti
    Tāme Wairere Iti has become well known in New Zealand as a Tūhoe Māori activist.- Early life :Born on a train near Rotorua, Tame Iti grew up with his grandparents in the custom known as whāngai on a farm near Ruatoki in the Urewera area of New Zealand...

  • Syd Jackson
    Syd Jackson (New Zealand)
    Syd Jackson was a prominent Māori activist, trade unionist and leader.Syd Jackson, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent, first came to prominence at the University of Auckland, where he gained an MA. He was the chairman of the Māori Students Association, and then was a founder of Ngā Tamatoa...

  • Ted Nia
  • Rawiri Paratene
    Rawiri Paratene
    -Biography:Born in Hokianga, Paratene is from the Maori iwi of Nga Puhi. Paratene has appeared in a large number of television, stage and film roles. He is also a theatrical director and writer for film, television and theatre...

  • Larry Parr
    Larry Parr
    Lawrence "Larry" Parr was a chess player, author and editor.Born in 1946 and originally from Bothell, Washington, Parr served from 1985 to 1988 as editor of Chess Life magazine, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation. Later, Parr was the editor of Glasnost magazine, an...


External links

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