Part 7: Conclusion

(This is the 7th and final part of a 7 part series on my final term paper for Ethnics. Click here to start at part one)

Conclusion

In this paper I have tried to show the history of the Maori people and their relations with the Crown and local government. At first the Maori and early settlers coexisted in relative peace and harmony (outside the few cases of cannibalism). It was not till British Imperialism entered the picture that the Maori found themselves on the defensive. Acting under the guise of a partnership, the British quietly declared their sovereignty over the whole Maori Nation and began to establish their dominance over the native people. Starting with questionable land deals the British soon took their opportunity for major land grab during the Land War with massive land confiscation—much of which we saw was unfairly done—and began to marginalize the Maori into the minority they are today. If it were not for the major activism of the 1960s and 1970s there is much evidence to suggest the Maori people would eventually be phased out to extinction. However, they began to use the club of the political power against those who used it upon them and asserted their rights as established in the Treaty of Waitangi. Government entities such as the Waitangi Tribunal and the Maori Language Commission serve to restore Maori land and language ownership. Such steps are in the right direction for the Maori to reestablish themselves as a culture. The question is which philosophy is the best one for the Maori: To use the existing government and try to slowly gain political power in order to achieve Maori ideals? Or declare independence from the Pakeha majority and become a true Maori Nation through a declaration of individual sovereignty from the rest of New Zealand? Only time and the Maori will decide which path is right for them.