Every high school in New Zealand is set to receive a copy of a new book about the Treaty of Waitangi following a surprise donation by an Auckland couple.
The pair, who are Pākehā and did not want to be named, said they wanted to do their bit to help educate Kiwis.
The book, called Understanding Te Tiriti, is a basic guide to New Zealand’s founding document.
The couple decided to buy and gift the books after attending a talk with author Roimata Smail at The Women’s Bookshop earlier this year.
“She and her husband came to that event, and then came back the next day and bought several copies for friends and so on, and then came back again and talked to me and said, ‘We want to spread this further, we’d like to put it into secondary schools’,” The Women’s Bookshop owner Carol Beu told 1News.
Smail said she “couldn’t believe it”.
“I was like, is this a trick? is it a joke? It can’t be serious,” she said.
“They just wanted to help spread the word and give young people access to it.”
All up, the pair bought just over 600 copies of the book.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Te Raki Paewhenua in Auckland was the first to receive their copies, and it was already resonating with some students.
“I think something I did pick up in the book is the difference between te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi – that they’re two separate documents,” one student said.
“In article two of the Māori text, Māori retain their absolute authority over their homes, their treasures, and all of their land,” another student in te reo. “But in the English text, it says ‘Māori yielded sovereignty’ or ‘Māori ceded’. It’s wrong – most Māori signed the Māori text.”
Beu said the couple’s purchase came at a good time, given how much the treaty has dominated headlines this year.
“I just think the timing of it is perfect with a Government who perhaps is not doing all that needs to be done to support all things Māori,” she said.
Smail said people “really want to know the facts, with the emotion and the politics taken out”.
“They want to feel like they know what’s being talked about on the news and in Wellington.”
