SLJ Wk 2 Day 4: Indigenous Rights

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Activity 1: Guiding Principles [4 points]

Hōne Heke was a rangatira (chief) of Ngapuhi iwi in Northland. He was a strong and fearless warrior, and also an intelligent leader who fought for Māori rights during the British colonisation of Aotearoa, New Zealand. He was baptised a Christian in 1835 and had much respect for the missionaries that came to New Zealand. Hōne Heke supported Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi - and was the first rangatira to sign it in 1840.

However he soon realised that under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori rangatira were losing their authority (power). In protest, he cut down the flagpole that flew the British flag at Kororareka (Russell) four times. He must have been very frustrated and angry.

Sometimes when we feel strongly (frustrated, angry, happy, excited, in awe…) we find it hard to put our feelings into words. Many cultures have sayings, proverbs or metaphors that can help people to explain their feelings or describe specific things. In Te Reo Māori, some people may use a whakataukī.


For this activity, read through the seven whakataukī (proverbs or metaphors) presented in this document. Choose one that has meaning for you. Create a poster that features the whakataukī and be sure to include at least one image (a drawing or photograph) on the poster that represents the whakataukī that you chose.

On your blog, share your poster of your whakataukī.






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Activity 2: Celebrating Diversity [4 points]

There are between 370 and 500 million Indigenous Peoples currently living in 90 countries around the world. Together, they represent over 5000 different cultures and speak 4000 different languages. That is pretty amazing ‘eh?! I wish that I could speak 4000 languages!

Indigenous People is the term used to describe the people who were the first inhabitants of a land. In Aotearoa, Māori are Indigenous. Indigenous people have rich and vibrant cultures that make the world such a fascinating, varied and enriching place to live.


Image Attribution: 2019 NAIDOC Poster by Charmaine Mumbulla is licensed under CC BY-NC-N4 4.0

For this activity we are going to become more familiar with some of these amazing indigenous communities. Please click on the links below to learn more about these fascinating groups.

Ainu People

Australian Aboriginal People

The Inuit People

Papuan People

The Maya People

Once you have finished learning about these groups, please choose the two that interest you the most.

On your blog tell us the names of the two groups that you chose and then tell us at least two interesting facts about each group. To earn full points, you must provide two facts about both groups - 4 facts in total.




Activity 3: Wise Words [4 points]

Sir Āpirana Ngata and Dame Whina Cooper were both influential leaders who fought for Māori rights. Āpirana Ngata was a lawyer and politician. He worked hard to give rights to Māori land owners, and he also spent a lot of his career encouraging Māori to preserve the culture - haka, poi, whakairo (carving), waiata (song), sport and the construction of more marae around Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Whina Cooper was the first president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, which worked on improving health, education, housing and welfare for Māori women in New Zealand in the 1950s. She led the Māori land hikoi (march) from Northland to Wellington to protest against the loss of Māori land. She was nearly 80 years old at the time. Both of these individuals are examples of wise, inspiring leaders and role models.


For this activity, please identify someone in your life who is a role model to you. This could be a parent, grandparent, neighbour, minister, imam, rabbi etc. Please ask them to share one piece of wisdom (advice) with you that they think you and your blog readers should hear.

On your blog, share this wisdom with your readers.