Tihei: Moana Jackson – one of Māoridom's best

Nation loses esteemed Māori leader - Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson. Photo / Supplied

Excerpts of Moana's obituary written by Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod

In the first week of April, thousands of people from around the nation converged on Matahiwi Marae in Heretaunga, Hawke's Bay, to honour Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson who passed away on March 31.

Moana hailed from Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou and Rongomaiwahine.

Throughout his life, he demonstrated outstanding leadership in helping whānau, hapū and iwi make decisions about their development. He was an expert in Te Tiriti, indigenous rights, tikanga, law and history and used his skills as an educator, motivator, facilitator and advocate to help all people understand colonisation and the impact it has had on Aotearoa.

His report, He Whaipaanga Hou, published in 1988, was well ahead of its time, providing solutions to help shape the criminal justice system so that it works fairly not just for Māori, but for all New Zealanders.

It was the product of his work as director of He Kaiwhakamārama i Ngā Ture, and hundreds of interviews with people who knew the justice system and its impact, particularly on whānau.

He was recently completing a review of that publication.

His occasional papers during the Fiscal Envelope and Capital Foreshore & Seabed legislative changes helped people understand how governments were restricting the rights of Māori.

This knowledge enabled New Zealanders to protest and bring international attention to the contemporary colonisation practices of our governments.

Since 2010 Moana led the team Matike Mai Aotearoa who produced a report in 2016 that is a blueprint for constitutional transformation. It is now a basic text for anyone studying law in Aotearoa and continues to provide hope for a fairer future for Māori and all New Zealanders.

Moana played a leading role in helping to shape the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

At one stage, he led the working group that was tasked with putting the draft together. He was in constant demand as a keynote speaker at conferences, Waitangi Tribunal and court hearings for his expertise in international human rights, tino rangatiratanga and social justice.

Moana was a quiet and humble man who had turned down offers of honours and public recognition of achievements.

His humility was well captured in a note about him in a recent publication "Moana likes telling stories to and for his mokopuna in hope that they grow up in a land where Te Tiriti is finally seen as the base for respectful political relationships. Then there will be other stories to tell." Imagining Decolonisation (2020).

Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa Jackson was the inaugural admission to the National Iwi Chairs Forum Whare Pūkenga. Moana served as a member on the Ngāti Kahungunu Taumata.