Treaty of Waitangi Companion
Treaty of Waitangi Companion · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Investigate a social, historical, economic, or political question using evidence
- Analyse multiple perspectives on complex social issues
- Understand how historical and contemporary forces shape society and identity
- Evaluate the relevance of Māori concepts and frameworks to understanding social issues
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I use at least two different sources or perspectives in my investigation
- I can explain how historical events or processes connect to present-day conditions
- I can present a clear position supported by specific evidence
- I connect at least one Māori concept or value to the social issue I am investigating
Video Companion · Treaty of Waitangi Companion
Use this handout before, during, and after viewing.
Before You Watch
What do you already know about the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi? When was it signed? What were its key promises? Note any questions you already have.
While Watching
Observe: (1) What was the context for signing in 1840? (2) What were the key differences between the Māori and English texts? (3) How did different signatories understand what they were agreeing to? (4) What happened after signing?
After Watching
The Treaty is often described as a "living document." What does this mean? How is the Treaty still relevant and contested today?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Two texts, two meanings
What were the main differences between the te reo Māori (Te Tiriti) and English versions of the Treaty? Why do these differences matter?
2. Perspectives on signing
Why did Māori rangatira sign the Treaty? What did they believe they were agreeing to? What did the Crown believe it was gaining?
3. The living Treaty
The Treaty Principles (partnership, participation, and protection) guide many NZ laws and policies today. Choose one current issue and explain how Treaty principles should apply.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 3–4: Investigate how historical, political, and economic processes shape societies; understand how people participate in communities to create change; analyse different perspectives on social, cultural, and environmental issues.
Level 3–4: Gather, evaluate, and synthesise information from multiple sources; construct well-reasoned arguments using evidence; communicate social science understanding clearly in written, oral, and visual forms.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Social Sciences taught well in Aotearoa should be uncomfortable — because the history of this land is one in which Māori and other communities have faced injustice, and in which those injustices are not yet fully addressed. Mātauranga Māori offers frameworks for thinking about social change that go beyond Western political theory: the concept of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), of kotahitanga (unity in purpose), of utu (reciprocity across time) — these are not abstract ideas but working tools for analysing how power has been distributed and how it might be redistributed more justly.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Source analysis framework — for evaluating primary and secondary sources
- Perspective mapping template — for identifying multiple viewpoints on an issue
- NZ timeline reference — key events in Aotearoa social and political history
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to develop a decolonized understanding of Aotearoa's history — reading the past through the eyes of tangata whenua, examining primary sources critically, and understanding how colonisation continues to shape the present. This unit centres mana Māori as the starting point, not a footnote.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can analyse a historical source for perspective, reliability, and significance — including identifying whose voices are centred or absent.
- ✅ Students can explain how a specific historical event — such as the NZ Wars, land confiscations, or the Dawn Raids — connects to present-day inequities and Māori-led responses.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide annotated source analysis frames for entry-level access — guiding students through the OPCVL or SOLO process step by step. Offer extension tasks asking students to compare a colonial-era source with a contemporary Māori account of the same event, analysing how the historical narrative has been contested and reclaimed.
ELL / ESOL: Primary source language (particularly 19th-century English) presents specific challenges — pre-read sources with students and pre-teach archaic or specialist vocabulary. Allow students to express historical analysis in their home language first before translating to English. Bilingual glossaries support engagement without reducing intellectual demand. Some ELL students may bring first-hand experience of colonisation from other contexts — honour these as valid comparative perspectives.
Inclusion: Decolonized history can surface difficult emotions for Māori students encountering colonial violence and injustice in the curriculum for the first time. Create a trauma-informed classroom. Neurodiverse learners benefit from chunked tasks and clear analytical scaffolds. Ensure all students understand that the purpose of this unit is not guilt but understanding — and that understanding is the foundation of partnership and change.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Decolonizing history means more than "adding Māori perspectives" — it means recognising that the dominant historical narrative itself is a colonial artefact. Whakapapa is an alternative historical framework: tracing connections, obligations, and continuity across time. The NZ Wars were not distant events — their consequences live in land ownership patterns, economic disparities, and community structures today. Tino rangatiratanga — the right of self-determination — was not surrendered at Waitangi and has been asserted continuously through protest, legislation, and resurgence. Teaching this history is an obligation of Te Tiriti partnership.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from foundational knowledge of the Treaty of Waitangi and its context. No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level source analysis tasks — scaffolds are provided.
Curriculum alignment
- Aotearoa New Zealand Histories — Know: Understand that colonisation was a global process that had a specific and profound impact on tangata whenua in Aotearoa, and that Māori responses to colonisation have been continuous and varied.
- Do — Social Studies: Explore perspectives, use evidence to form conclusions, and share ideas — analyse primary sources, compare historical perspectives, and present findings.