As New Zealand’s parliament gathered to pay tribute to the Queen, honors and admiration were mixed with sharp criticism of a monarchy built on “stolen land, stolen resources, and stolen treasure”.
“As I stand in this House as a representative of te Iwi Māori, we must always speak our authentic truth,” said Māori party coleader Rawiri Waititi. “The British empire and the power of its monarchy was built of stolen whenua [land], stolen resources, and stolen taonga [treasure].”
While he acknowledged that Māori tradition calls for mourning the dead, he said it was tough to separate Queen, the person from the institution. “I see a lot written on social media. The righteous anger of Indigenous people all over the world. I take those stories as stories I carry with me, and my tikanga,” he said.
Waititi said that the royal family should have time to grieve their loss. But he also said the person of the Queen could not be separated from the institution she represented.
“We cannot ignore the oppression of Māori as very real and continuing by the Queen”
“Many Māori leaders, while holding a rightful space of aroha [love], have also been very clear that we cannot ignore the oppression of Māori as very real and continuing,” Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said. Notably, the royal family has acknowledged its past wrongdoings in the past. In 1995 the Queen personally signed a crown apology to the people of Waikato/Tainui for atrocities and the stealing of land by the crown.
He added, “We are accustomed to the importance of being able to bring to bear the fullness of a person’s life, especially at their death.”
King Charles III had spoken at a recent Commonwealth meeting in Rwanda about acknowledging past wrongdoing.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern left for the UK on Wednesday to attend the Queen’s funeral on September 19.