Source: Radio New Zealand
Pat Gray (right) and Ange Jones (left) are “proud Tangata Tiriti” and belong to Network Waitangi Whangārei – an organisation that provides information, education and support to implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ
More Pākehā are enrolling in Treaty education workshops and seeking out information about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, according to long-standing Treaty educators.
Waitangi Network Whangārei, a community-based rōpū said membership enrolments have tripled in the last year, alongside increasing attendance at its public workshops introducing people to Te Tiriti.
“We’ve had big numbers in the last few years, so there’s a lot more interest in people trying to understand about Te Tiriti,” Network Waitangi Whangārei member and educator Ngaire Ray told RNZ.
“There’s a real movement for people to understand what does Te Tiriti mean for all of us.”
Network Waitangi Whangārei has been operating since 1985. Originally known as Project Waitangi, the group was established to educate non-Māori about the Treaty in the lead-up to the 150th anniversary of its signing in 1990.
Ray said the group had been travelling to Waitangi for decades, focusing on encouraging Tangata Tiriti to see Te Tiriti as relevant to them.
“It’s our partnership, it’s a relationship,” she said.
“Te Tiriti is for all people and if we embrace Te Tiriti, it sets out the path and the future for Aotearoa.”
She said Te Tiriti was an agreement between two nations – Māori and the Crown – and that non-Māori had a responsibility to understand the historical context and the commitments made in 1840.
“It’s really important that my people, that Pākehā people and non-Māori are present in the relationship and understand Te Tiriti, we understand the historical context of where that was signed, what was agreed in Te Tiriti and what does it mean for us and the future of Aotearoa.”
Network Waitangi Whangārei member and Educator Ngaire Ray says enrollments have tripled over the past year. Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ
Kathryn McKenzie, a Pākehā Treaty educator who has been running workshops for 32 years, said many people were only now beginning to learn a history they were not taught at school.
“If it was happening in our schools, we wouldn’t need to be here. If our people knew our history, we wouldn’t need to be here,” she said.
“We’ve got a history of colonisation, and we have for many, many years tried to hide it. And that doesn’t create stable partnership if we don’t acknowledge our past.”
McKenzie said Treaty education gained momentum following the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, when Pākehā protesters were challenged by Māori activists to “go and educate your people” about racism and Te Tiriti.
Project Waitangi emerged from that period of activism, alongside other anti-racism movements. It later became Network Waitangi, with autonomous regional groups continuing the education kaupapa to this day.
The group describes itself as an independent, voluntary community organisation providing information, education and support to help people understand and implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
McKenzie said people attending workshops included Pākehā, Māori and newer migrants – often referred to as tangata Tiriti – who had come to Aotearoa after 1840.
“Everybody needs to learn because they’ve all come through the standard education system where the Treaty has not been taught,” she said.
She said terms such as “Pākehā” and “Tangata Tiriti” were often misunderstood.
“Tangata Tiriti, we’re the partners that signed the Treaty. Because we have signed the Treaty, that was what gave us permission to settle here.”
Tangata Tiriti Annie and Carol attend the nationwide activation hīkoi mō Te Tiriti in Dargarville. Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ
Recent national data suggests the growing interest in Treaty education reflects wider public attitudes.
For the third year running, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission surveyed New Zealanders’ awareness, understanding and attitudes toward Te Tiriti, human rights and the constitution.
The December 2025 survey, conducted by Horizon Research, found strong support for protecting Te Tiriti and fostering respectful discussion.
Seventy percent said it was important that Te Tiriti is protected in New Zealand’s laws and constitution, while 78 percent said respectful discussion of Te Tiriti was important for the country’s future.
Eighty-seven percent said it was important that everyone knows the country’s history, 83 percent said positive relationships between Māori and the Crown is important, and 79 percent supported protecting and celebrating Māori culture, language and identity.
The survey also found 93 percent believed it was important that everyone feels a sense of belonging in Aotearoa.
Commission Indigenous Rights Governance partner Dayle Takitimu said the findings challenged narratives of division.
“Many of the results tell a different story to the narrative of division we have been fed over the past two years,” Takitimu said.
“The majority of New Zealanders value Māori culture and traditions, care about the real histories of Aotearoa, and want respectful discussions about Te Tiriti.”
Network Waitangi Whangārei was established in 1985 and have been attending Waitangi ever since. Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ
Ray said education is central to what happens next.
“We aren’t going to get to a better future unless we talk to people, educate people, inform people, help them to understand our history,” she said.
“It’s a beautiful document, it’s a simple one-page document, it’s a peaceful agreement, and it has held so much potential for how we can be together as a country and as a people.”
McKenzie said facing the past was necessary to build stronger relationships in the future.
“We can build a better future if we face our past,”
“Don’t be scared, because Te Tiriti o Waitangi is actually good for us all.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
