Waitangi Tribunal Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi

4a. Peaceful Protest

The spiritual leaders Te Whiti and Tohu protested against the Government's actions without being violent.

• Find out more about Te Whiti, Tohu, and the Parihaka situation. In other parts of the world, there has been peaceful protest.
• Find out about the leaders Mahatma Gandhi of India and Martin Luther King of the United States of America or other leaders of peaceful protests.
• What were they protesting about?
• What happened as a result of their protest?
• What are the similarities and differences between Parihaka and the other peaceful protests you have found out about?
• Why do you think people in power act as if they fear peaceful protest?

4b. The Purpose of Courts

We have courts to decide whether or not a person has done something which has broken a law. The court decides if a person is guilty or not guilty of the crime they have been accused of.

Write or tell about:

• a time when you were blamed for something you did not do and no one would listen to you. Explain how you felt. or
• a time you got into trouble for doing something which you thought was right but other people thought was wrong and no one gave you a chance to explain. Explain how you felt.

Your situation is similar to Māori leaders in Taranaki who were treated as guilty without going to court first.

4c. The Treaty and Taranaki Māori

Taranaki iwi were not asked to sign the Treaty, but Hobson declared sovereignty over all of Aotearoa.

What do you think the relationship was between Taranaki iwi and the Government in the 1860s?

4d. Taranaki Today

• Write about, or prepare a speech about why the events of the past in Taranaki are still important to Taranaki people today.
• Think about how things could have been done differently in Taranaki and how that would have affected the lives of the people then and now.

Next: What the Treaty Means Today