After the Kīngitanga Hui ā Motu at Tūrangawaewae Marae in January there were calls for kotahitanga (unity) and she thought to herself, “Where’s my place in all of this?”
She was wanting to get involved and saw Tame Iti posting on social media, looking for people who would want to take part in his hīkoi.
The day before Waitangi Day, around 1000 people dressed in white and carrying white flags, chanted “the Treaty is a fraud, honour the Treaty” as they made their way from Te Tii Marae on to the Upper Treaty Grounds and to Te Whare Rūnanga at Waitangi.
Ms Robinson was in the middle of this as part of the rōpū named after Moana Jackson.
“The feeling was incredible; it was amazing. It was so powerful. I felt privileged to be a part of it.”
She saw Ngā Tamatoa members walking through to the front. Ngā Tamatoa is a Māori activist group that operated throughout the 1970s to promote Māori rights, fight racial discrimination, and confront injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand Government, particularly violations of the Treaty of Waitangi.
“It was such an amazing atmosphere. We had tears in our eyes when our group rose up the hill behind Ngā Tamatoa.”
On her journey to Waitangi, she stopped in and visited friends and family along the way. While visiting them, she met some people working on their farms — two Americans and two French people — as well as an Inuit woman from Copenhagen who is studying for her doctorate in indigenous studies.
She explained where she was going and they all decided to join her, to learn more about New Zealand’s founding document.
When they got to the Treaty grounds, they ran into another Pākehā woman who had flags and was wanting to take part. She joined their group too.
Clare said about half the group were Māori, and the rest were a mix of Pākehā and other ethnicities.
“I am pleased I went. I had a feeling of frustration; even during the election campaigns I hardly watched the news as I didn’t want to get depressed or angry about it.”
On Waitangi Day, she attended the Tangata Tiriti forum and the Palestine Forum where kōrero was heard about the indigenous rights of people and the role Tangata Tiriti play in the treaty.
She also noticed what people were wearing — “wāhine dressed beautifully in outfits full of pride and mana”.
Not only were Māori and Tangata Tiriti speaking but Pasifika people were also involved in forums. They spoke about how through whakapapa Pasifika people and Maori are connected.
Clare said Waitangi Day itself was extremely busy with over 40,000 people coming to the Treaty grounds and Te Tii Marae to take part in forums and events.
Tangata Tiriti is a modern Māori language term which is taken to mean “people of the treaty” and refers to all non-Māori citizens and residents of Aotearoa New Zealand.
It was first coined by Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie, the chair of the Waitangi Tribunal, at Waitangi in 1989.
He referred to Tangata Tiriti as those who belong to Aotearoa New Zealand by right of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The term gained some broader exposure when it was presented to mainstream New Zealand in 2006 in a Human Rights Commission document published by the Auckland Workers Educational Association — Tangata Tiriti - Treaty People.
“I think there’s a lot of fear and misinformation being put out there,” said Clare. “The fact is (the Treaty) is just the fundamental rights they had. It has been never been honoured properly, and any gains were fought for. Even with Treaty settlements it’s a battle.
“If there was true partnership, we would treat everyone with respect, we would treat the whenua with respect and we would not exploit it.”
