Case Study: The Arguments of Tino Rangatiratanga

Analyzing the 1975 Land March with the PEEL Method

Context: A Nation on the Move

In 1975, a group of Māori leaders, led by Dame Whina Cooper, organized a march from the top of the North Island to Parliament in Wellington. The hīkoi (march) was a protest against the ongoing loss of Māori land. The arguments they made were not just emotional; they were carefully structured, powerful, and designed to persuade a nation. This handout analyzes those arguments using the PEEL structure.

This resource is a companion to the PEEL Argument Handout.

Deconstructing the Argument

P - Point: "Not one more acre of Māori land."

This was the central, unifying point of the entire movement. It was a clear, concise, and powerful statement of their goal. It argued that the historical process of land alienation had to stop immediately.

E - Evidence: The Memorial of Right

The marchers carried a 'Memorial of Right' to Parliament. This document was their key piece of evidence. It detailed the specific laws and government actions that had led to the loss of millions of acres of land since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. It listed statutes, dates, and the exact amount of land lost, providing factual evidence to support their point.

E - Explanation: The Betrayal of Te Tiriti

The leaders explained that this land loss was not just an economic issue; it was a betrayal of the promises made in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They explained that the Treaty was supposed to protect Māori tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty, self-determination), including their right to their lands. The loss of land, they explained, was a direct assault on their culture, identity, and mana.

L - Link: A Call for Justice

The march linked the historical evidence of land loss directly to a call for present-day action. By walking the length of the island, they physically linked the land to the seat of power in Wellington. The final link was their demand: that the government honour the Treaty, protect the remaining Māori land, and begin a process of redress for past injustices. This led directly to the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal.

He Mahi (Practice Your Skills)

Now that you have seen a breakdown of the argument, it's your turn to analyze the primary source material yourself. The following handout contains excerpts from the 1975 Memorial of Right and a worksheet to help you build your own PEEL paragraph.

Open the Analysis Worksheet

Critical Thinking

Why was using a structured, evidence-based argument like this more powerful than simply expressing anger or frustration? How did the PEEL structure help make their case to the government and the public?

📋 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.