Janet McAllister: Let's get together as one group of 'peoples'

I have a dream: Could there be a Waitangi Day without anyone trying to score political points? Photo / Supplied

Last Sunday I was one of only a handful of onlookers at the powhiri for the biggest Waitangi celebrations outside of Waitangi itself, organised by Toi O Manukau at the vast, raw Barry Curtis Park in southeast Auckland.

During the powhiri, Shane Jones tried scoring political points with cheap wisecracks, and community board chair Michael Williams claimed the Treaty was all about law, property rights and the fairness of land transactions (no mention of cultural identity). Maurice Williamson did a small mihi in surprisingly reasonable te reo and then got breathless about how "desperately lucky" we all are to live here, even if it isn't that Pakeha touchstone, Paris.

And while all this unfolded before me, I dreamed a dream - a dream of what a Waitangi event would look like if I ever got to design one.

For a start, the powhiri/opening ceremony would be a highlight, rather than a perfunctory preamble performed before 98 per cent of the crowd showed up for the afternoon concert. Politicians would be kept to a minimum. We couldn't do away with them altogether - they do represent Treaty partner "the Crown" after all - but in the korero they would be outnumbered by artists, teachers, community workers, historians and - even better - people (often the same people) who have "made" history, activists who have worked for mutual understanding between Maori and non-Maori, and for indigenous rights. People who can move us and who aren't after our votes.

These speakers would include men and women, Maori and non-Maori (not just Maori and Pakeha), young and old. Anybody who thought it a good idea to say "we are all one people" would have to explain carefully what they meant so their listeners didn't think we can ignore cultural, social and economic differences in favour of majority rules. My favourite interpretation of that loaded one-people phrase (if one has to use it at all) is that we aim to be all one group of "peoples", not one group of "people". A group that strives not for uniformity but for mutual understanding and respect based on knowledge rather than ignorance of historical and continuing injustices. One people? Rather, "one love". (Thanks, and happy birthday, Bob Marley.)

There would definitely be jokes. So those airy-fairy words of "understanding and respect" actually mean something, I would ask the Treaty Resource Centre to run a Treaty information stall and make it fun for the kids. Information would be available on the differing positions in Treaty issues. I would steal Toi O Manukau's awesome ideas of Treaty debates, and performances from various cultures (which didn't happen this year, but hopefully will again next year).

As well as the usual entertainment, there would be art exhibitions, and waiata singalongs and kapa haka classes, and demonstrations of contemporary whaakairo (carving), mahi harakeke (weaving) and Maori musical instruments. There would be explanations of tukutuku patterns and wharenui symbolism and marae protocol for different iwi.

All the signs would be in te reo Maori and English and there would be te reo classes. Everyone could get involved and feel it was their day.

Unlikely? So was a popular Anzac dawn service not so long ago. Reduce the number of politicians and anything could happen.