Treaty & Me lectures open doors for honest discussions

Avril Bell will be giving the first of four in a series of public lectures, titled The Treaty & Me, aimed at making a positive contribution to information, education and support to implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Author and academic Avril Bell is the first of four speakers to share her knowledge with Whangārei residents in The Treaty & Me free public lecture series beginning on Thursday.
The lectures, organised by Network Waitangi Whangārei, are for everyone, but are particularly aimed at those keen to engage with Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a way that promotes a harmonious future for New Zealand.
In the series, four respected voices will speak from their own experience and research, each giving a lunchtime and an evening lecture on four consecutive Thursdays starting on October 24.
Bell, formerly of Kaitaia, will explore the notion of Becoming Tangata Tiriti, the title of her new book in which 12 non-Māori New Zealanders share their thoughts and experiences of what this idea means to them in their work with, and in support of, Māori.
“We are used to thinking that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is all about Māori,” says Bell, “but it’s also about the rest of us.”
She says both her lecture and her book will be “an accessible introductory resource for non-Māori interested in learning more about forging productive relationships with Māori and about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi offers us all”.
Bell is a Pākehā New Zealander and an honorary associate professor in sociology at the University of Auckland. Throughout her career, she has researched what it means to be Pākehā, and Māori-Pākehā relationships in the context of the legacy of our colonial history. Her earlier book, Relating Indigenous and Settler Identities: Beyond Domination (2014, Palgrave), extends her focus on New Zealand to make connections between here and indigenous-settler relations in Australia, Canada and the US. She is also co-editor of A Land of Milk and Honey? Making Sense of Aotearoa New Zealand (2017, Auckland University Press).
Bell will be introduced by former Whangārei mayor Sheryl Mai, who will also host a question-and-answer session at the end. Attendees will be invited to submit questions for this on arrival and immediately after the lecture.
Copies of Becoming Tangata Tiriti will be available for purchase at Bell’s lectures on Thursday, along with other books and resources from Network Waitangi Whangārei.
Network Waitangi Whangārei has been working in Northland since 1986 to provide information, education and support for implementing Te Tiriti. Speakers and MCs have been chosen carefully for their knowledge and understanding of the Treaty, and of the racism and colonisation our nation is built on.
“We made a deliberate decision to choose Pākehā/tauiwi to present these talks instead of Māori, whose resources and energy are often stretched within their own communities,” says Network Waitangi Whangārei’s Jette de Jong.
“We want to inform and strengthen people to stand as tangata Tiriti, side by side with tangata whenua.”
The series is timely as both Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council voted recently to retain their Māori wards, and next year people will be asked to vote for their permanent retention in a referendum. With the Treaty Principles Bill due to be presented to Parliament in November, these lectures will give people plenty to consider and explore when it comes to making decisions about the future governance of our region and our country.
The talks are for everyone, but particularly those keen to explore how Te Tiriti is key to New Zealand’s harmonious future.
“There is a growing awareness amongst non-Māori that if you trample on the Treaty, you’re trampling on the mana of everyone – tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti alike,” says de Jong.
“As Pākehā and tauiwi, when we speak up for Te Tiriti, we’re both acknowledging we’ve not upheld the deal struck by the Crown; and saying it’s not too late to put that right. If we’re honest with ourselves, we won’t stand comfortably on this land until we do.”
The Treaty & Me series will run every Thursday for four weeks from October 24, with two sessions on each date: a lunchtime session from noon-2pm in the May Bain Room at the Whangārei Library (includes NZ Sign Language interpreter) and an evening session from 7pm-9pm at OneOneSix, 116 Bank St.
Coffee/tea and snacks will be served on arrival. All sessions are free, with koha appreciated.
For more information on each speaker and session, go to networkwaitangiwhangarei.org.nz or click here to follow Network Waitangi Whangārei on Facebook.
The lectures are free, but bookings via Eventfinda are recommended because numbers are limited in both venues – click here for all booking links.