Year 9 Social Studies · Rights and Participation · Lesson 2
For much of the 20th century, Māori children were punished for speaking te reo Māori at school under policies designed to assimilate Māori into Pākehā society. By the 1970s, te reo was considered endangered. The Māori Language Act 1987 made te reo an official language of Aotearoa. Today, kura kaupapa Māori and kōhanga reo exist, but resource funding and teacher supply remain contested. The question is: who is responsible for protecting and resourcing the right to be educated in te reo Māori — and is this a Treaty obligation?
| 1. What rights are at stake in this case? (List them) | |
| 2. Whose rights are they? Who holds them? | |
| 3. What values underlie each position? What does each side care about? | |
| 4. What would a fair resolution look like? What would te Tiriti say? What would tikanga say? |
In 1981, the South African rugby team (the Springboks) toured New Zealand despite South Africa's apartheid system, which enforced racial segregation by law. Thousands of New Zealanders protested. The government, under Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, allowed the tour to proceed. Police were deployed against protesters at multiple games, including the famous Hamilton match that was cancelled. The question: when the right to protest conflicts with public order and the right to hold a sporting event, how should the state decide which takes precedence — and whose rights mattered more in the government's response?
| 1. What rights are at stake in this case? (List them) | |
| 2. Whose rights are they? Who holds them? | |
| 3. What values underlie each position? What does each side care about? | |
| 4. What would a fair resolution look like? What would te Tiriti say? What would tikanga say? |
Freshwater (rivers, lakes, groundwater) has been the subject of multiple Waitangi Tribunal hearings. Māori claimants have argued that Article 2 of te Tiriti guarantees tino rangatiratanga over freshwater as a taonga. The Crown has asserted that it holds management authority over freshwater and that this is not inconsistent with Treaty obligations. The Tribunal has found that Māori have residual proprietary rights in freshwater. The question: who has authority over freshwater in Aotearoa — and is Crown management authority compatible with rangatiratanga, or in conflict with it?
| 1. What rights are at stake in this case? (List them) | |
| 2. Whose rights are they? Who holds them? | |
| 3. What values underlie each position? What does each side care about? | |
| 4. What would a fair resolution look like? What would te Tiriti say? What would tikanga say? |