New resource for community organisations on engaging with the Treaty

The Treaty Resource Centre has published a new resource to support community organisations in engaging with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The resource, Ngā Rerenga o Te Tiriti, is aimed particularly at organisations who are primarily Tangata Tiriti / Tauiwi / Pākehā in their current ways of working. Ngā Rerenga o Te Tiriti is for organisations who are clear that they want to engage, or enhance their existing engagement, with the Treaty. It does not contain background information about the origins of the Treaty and its content, or about colonisation and its impacts, or about the imperatives for community organisations to engage with the Treaty as there are existing resources available on this.

The resource includes:

• Ngā Rerenga o Te Tiriti: community organisations engaging with the Treaty of Waitangi
• Organisational stories: reflections from community organisations on engaging with the Treaty
• Additional resources to guide community organisations in their engagement with the Treaty

The resource is the result of a Treaty Resource Centre project, Treaty Application in Community Organisations, led by Jen Margaret with support from Alex Hotere-Barnes and Christine Herzog. The project received funding from the Lottery Community Sector Research Fund. The project utilised Treaty-informed processes and involved:

• Discussions with Ngāti Tamaoho Trust, the Treaty Resource Centre’s mana whenua Treaty Partner
• Bringing together a group of researchers to consider the implications of their work for Treaty application
• Case study interviews with six diverse community organisations regarding their experiences in applying the Treaty
• Māori practitioners providing feedback on the theoretical framing and content of the resource.

The resource is being launched in Auckland on 12 September 2016. An event will also be held in Wellington, details to be confimed.