Roimata Smail discussed widespread misconceptions about the Treaty
The National Library invited Waitangi Tribunal lawyer Roimata Smail to speak on the Waitangi Treaty today, reported the NZ Herald.
Smail’s talk took place at the Library Auditorium this afternoon. The lecture focused on clearing up widespread misconceptions about the Treaty.
“When I was at school, I really didn’t learn anything about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The knowledge has come from 20 years on the job representing claimants”, Smail said in a statement published by the Herald. “What I have learned is that Te Tiriti is not complex, nor are the principles”.
Smail’s book Understanding Te Tiriti has hit the bestseller lists in New Zealand, and the invite to the lawyer was extended as part of the National Library’s E Oho! Waitangi series and is in line with the library’s mission to bolster its influence by way of strategic collaboration, according to Dr Tanja Schubert-McArthur, kaiārahi and learning facilitator at the National Library.
“We started the E Oho! Waitangi series in 2021 to address the existing knowledge gap in our country on topics of Aotearoa and the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi”, Schubert-McArthur said in a statement published by the Herald.” E oho! translates to ‘wake up’ in te reo Māori, and that’s the intention behind bringing in speakers and experts to offer new perspectives, enhance historical understanding, and encourage reflection on individual roles”.
The talks, Schubert-McArthur explained, “provide a space for manuhiri to expand their knowledge and understanding”.
“Like the whakatauki of He Tohu: He whakapapa kōrero, he whenua kura – Talking about our past to create a better future. What has made it seem complicated for us today as a nation is that for 184 years, the Crown has not adhered to what it agreed to in Te Tiriti”, Schubert-McArthur said.
The original documents of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni — the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand – are kept by the National Library. E Oho! is part of the He Tohu tour, which is a permanent exhibition featuring these constitutional documents.
