Year 9–10 Social Studies · Global Indigenous Solidarity

Lesson 5: Being a Global Indigenous Citizen — Action & Advocacy

From classroom to action — how young people can meaningfully participate in global Indigenous solidarity, and what it means for rangatahi Māori to carry both local and international responsibility.

🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions

🧠 Students will know:

Forms of advocacy (protest, petitions, social media campaigns, cultural solidarity, official channels); what 'global citizenship' means from a Māori worldview (kaitiakitanga for all peoples); how rangatahi have led real solidarity movements.

🌏 Students will demonstrate:

Design and present a concrete solidarity action plan for one global Indigenous community; deliver a 2-minute advocacy speech connecting Māori values to global responsibility.

🎥 Media Anchor & Discussion Scaffold

Global Indigenous Solidarity: Connecting Peoples & Movements

Watch the full clip — 2:49. Source: Geoff Steven.

🧠 1. Before Viewing (Activate & Inquire)

You have learned about global Indigenous solidarity. But now what? What is the role of a Year 9 or 10 student in Aotearoa? What can you actually DO that would make a difference?

👁️ 2. During Viewing (Critical Inquiry)

  • Capture as you watch: this is archival footage of the 1975 Land March with a Hone Tuwhare poem. Record what you SEE — who is marching, how many, what they carry.
  • Listen to the words: note two lines of the poem exactly. What is the poem asking for, and who is it addressed to?
  • Then and now: the march was fifty years ago. Note one thing in the footage you think has changed, and one you think has not.

🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Discussion (Process & Connect)

Kaiako Provocation: Bring in real examples of Aotearoa students taking solidarity action — letters, petitions, school resolutions, cultural performances at protests. Celebrate these as legitimate civic participation. Discuss: what makes advocacy EFFECTIVE vs. symbolic?

Inquiry Task: Solidarity Action Plan: Choose one global Indigenous community from the unit. Design a three-step solidarity action plan a school could realistically implement. Include: an awareness action (inform), a relationship-building action (connect), and an advocacy action (act). Present to the class.

⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Inquiry Hook (5 mins)

List three things you can do TODAY as a Year 9/10 student in Aotearoa to show solidarity with a global Indigenous community. Be specific and realistic — not 'raise awareness' but HOW specifically.

🌏 Activity 1: Research & Analysis (25 mins)

Advocacy speech preparation — using today's research and the whole unit, draft and rehearse a 2-minute advocacy speech for a school assembly. Opening must include a whakataukī and closing must include a specific call to action.

✍️ Activity 2: Synthesis & Advocacy Writing (20 mins)

Unit synthesis: Create a 'Global Indigenous Solidarity Map' — a visual that connects Māori to at least four global Indigenous communities studied in this unit. For each connection: what is shared, what is unique, and what is the solidarity action.

🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes

Curriculum Alignment: Te Mataiaho Social Sciences Level 5 — Students develop informed civic identities and understand how collective action shapes social and political outcomes locally and globally.

Cultural Sensitivity: Handle current conflicts (West Papua, Standing Rock) with care — students may have personal connections to these communities. Centre Indigenous voices and perspectives; avoid centring settler/state narratives.

Treaty Connections: Each lesson connects to the Treaty of Waitangi and Aotearoa's specific decolonisation journey, ensuring local grounding for global learning.