A life of history and dance

Jane Luiten. Picture by Liam Clayton

Historian Jane Luiten has spent much of her working life researching treaty claims for the Waitangi Tribunal. But when she is not reading history, she is busy holding folk dance events throughout New Zealand. She talked to Avneesh Vincent . . .

Historian Jane Luiten has spent much of her working life researching treaty claims for the Waitangi Tribunal. But when she is not reading history, she is busy holding folk dance events throughout New Zealand. She talked to Avneesh Vincent.

It was love at first sight,” Jane Luiten says about her discovery of New Zealand history at university decades ago.

She remembers getting hooked on a history that was “close enough to touch”.

“For instance, my children’s great-grandmother’s grandfather was at the events at Rangiaowhia — a thriving village — which was attacked by the Crown in 1864. So it’s quite recent and close and reading about such events fascinates me.”

Luiten’s career began in the 1990s as a fresh graduate with the Waitangi Tribunal, proofreading the tribunal’s report on Kai Tahu’s claim.

“The South Island, being relatively less populated, was purchased very early on by the Crown, sweeping purchases at nominal prices with the promise of reserves and other benefits that never eventuated. As a result by 1864, Kai Tahu were basically landless.’

Luiten’s work on the tribe’s “ancillary” claims was her first introduction to treaty research.

“While my work may be time-consuming, it completely takes me over and my imagination — an experience that I thoroughly enjoy.”

Over the years, she has worked and studied on numerous issues including Maori eviction case studies, land alienation, representation, and local government issues.

“Researching the Treaty of Waitangi would be one of my personal favourites and one close to my heart,” Luiten says.

In 2014 she was employed by the Tribunal to work on its report on the Northland inquiry, specifically the historical circumstances surrounding the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Waitangi.

“Researching the Treaty of Waitangi would be one of my personal favourites and one close to my heart,” Ms Luiten says.

“I spent eight months reading all the evidence presented to the tribunal, which was the first time Ngapuhi had the opportunity to share their side of the story about Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“Reading all the evidence changed the way I thought about it,” she said.

Since then, the historian said she has spent a long time thinking about the treaty and the many ways it is misrepresented.

“We are still telling ourselves fairy stories about the Treaty. So many facets of New Zealand life refer to the Treaty but nobody’s really understanding what that means.”

Being a historian meant working long hours and keeping busy.

“It’s a lonely profession; you are working on your own and there’s no kind of collegial support.

“I’m often contracted by the Ministry of Justice but it’s entirely on me on how I go about each commission.”

“Technology, especially the internet, makes it possible to work in Gisborne, which is a bonus – you no longer have to live where government archives are located.

“The job involves a lot of reading and thinking and trying to make sense of things. And when it comes to the writing part, it’s like pulling teeth. All in all it’s a challenging job.”

The fact that the Tribunal is a court of inquiry and historians are cross-examined on their work is an additional challenge that historians working in other fields don’t have to contend with.

Luiten confessed that she always wanted to be a writer and had no prior interest in history until she fell in love with the subject when she was an under-graduate at Waikato Uuniversity.

She grew up in Kaitaia in the Far North, and was drawn to the East Coast after her work on the Tribunal inquiry there.

Twelve years ago she arrived in Gisborne, a place she says reminds her of her hometown.

“I basically fell in love with the history of the East Coast and that’s how I found myself moving to this place.”

When Luiten is not reading, writing or researching about history, she puts on her dancing shoes.

She is the president of Folk Dance New Zealand and also runs Good Folk: Dances from Planet Earth, offering weekly folk dance workshops.

As with history, her introduction to folk dance was “love at first sight”.

“I discovered folk dance as a young mother in Hamilton. There was this live band playing Greek music at a school event and I turned to a stranger next to me and said, ‘Gee I wish I knew how to dance to this.’ She said, ‘ I do’ and we both got up to dance’.

“That’s how I discovered international folk dance and I have been dancing ever since — 24 years later.”

She said it was a “lovely way” to connect with people and draw on wisdoms of centuries of people dancing together.

On her current work as a historian, Luiten said she is revising a manuscript she had finished two years ago.

“It’s on the Treaty of Waitangi which is offering a different perspective and one which I would like to get published.

“Without giving too much away it’s based on the tribunal’s landmark decision in 2014 that Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty when they signed Te Tiriti, and the deeper implications of this.”

For those wanting to pursue a career in history, Luiten has a message.

“New Zealand history is incredibly fascinating. I have loved my career and every single project I’ve been on. While it may require working long hours of reading, thinking and writing, it’s extremely rewarding.

“We need more historians as there are still stories yet to be told, and we need storytellers. We need to understand our past in order to inform the present. So go for it!”