Strong fit
Systems shape how people and groups organise themselves: rights,
responsibilities, power, fairness.
How this handout aligns
The resource helps students understand Te Tiriti as a relationship that shapes rights,
responsibilities, authority, and fairness in Aotearoa rather than as a disconnected historical
artefact.
Social Studies
Rights and responsibilities
Power and fairness
Use this when students need conceptual language for later discussion about
systems, governance, and participation.
Strong fit
How different systems function in Aotearoa and globally, including iwi,
local and national governments: local government, Māori leadership, democracy, dictatorship.
How this handout aligns
The governance and scenario sections give kaiako a way to introduce how iwi and Crown authority
sit in relation to one another, and why Treaty questions still matter in civic decision-making.
Governance
Iwi and Crown
Civic systems
Especially useful before local-government, mana whenua, or public-policy
lessons where students must understand who should be at the table.
Aotearoa lens
Treaty teaching in Aotearoa should help students encounter Te Tiriti as
living relationship work, not only a past event to recall.
How to teach this well
Pair the handout with mana whenua context where possible, teach the key kupu carefully, and keep
returning to the question: “What kind of relationship is being proposed here?” That protects
against shallow principle-only teaching.
Mātauranga Māori
Mana-enhancing practice
Living Treaty context
Best used as a first step before source comparison, local history, or
contemporary Treaty issue study.