Dunedin's Botanic Garden. Photo: 123RF
Is it time for parks and reserves to better uphold Te Tiriti? Two researchers believe so.
After finding gaps in legislation, University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers Dr Robin Quigg (Ngāti Raukawa) and Els Russell (Ngāti Maru) examined what extent do indigenous rights have on managed public land.
The co-authored paper published in Local Environment, the International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, investigated how parks and reserves in Aotearoa have historically been used as colonial tools in the formation of settler nations, disrupting indigenous peoples' connections to their lands.
They also looked into names of Dunedin City Council parks and reserves, concluding that 75 percent were named in Tangata Tiriti remembrance while seven percent of its reserves had names that reflect Kai Tahu rūnaka histories and values.
For example, Roberts Park derived from Sir John Roberts, a Dunedin businessman, mayor and provincial councillor, and Caversham (reserve) was named after early English settler William Henry Valpy.
"Across Aotearoa New Zealand, parks and reserves demonstrate the lasting impact of land alienation, a pain still deeply felt today, with reserves demonstrating that while unoccupied, they continue to carry colonial histories in such features as their names, the activities facilitated, and types and patterns of vegetation.
"Whose version of nature are we seeing in those straight rows of poplars by the sports ground, or in parks named after someone else's great-great-grandfather who sat on a Domain Board?" Quigg questioned.
Dr Robin Quigg. Photo: supplied
The Reserves Act 1977 governs the acquisition, management, and preservation of more than 10,000 reserves in Aotearoa with over half in control of local councils - its managers are required to uphold Māori values and align with the rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti.
"While parks and reserves are public land, the Act requires the land to be categorised in ways that exclude Māori values, even when the land was compulsorily acquired from Māori hapū and whanau."
Their study used Critical Tiriti Analysis, a methodological approach developed by Māori scholars, to assess the Act's responsiveness to Te Tiriti and find ways to incorporate Māori perspectives in public land management.
"The [Act] reinforces and reminds us that colonialism is not only in the past... Many of us experience its legacy daily, in how we think about nature, and what counts as 'natural' in our towns and communities."
"This means tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and ōritetanga (equality), both guaranteed by Te Tiriti, are not specifically noted to be upheld by the Act. As a result, Māori rights in parks and reserves management rely heavily on the attitudes and awareness of those implementing it."
She said Māori whānau, hapū, their histories, values, and practices have long been marginalised and excluded from dominant narratives and systems.
"This has been done through forced acquisition of land that becomes parks and reserves, relocations, renaming of places, restricting access to traditional spaces, and causing environmental degradation to culturally significant landmarks and areas."
It is time for these areas to better represent Māori histories, values, and relationships to the land, she said.
"Given that the legislation guiding parks and reserves management in Aotearoa fails to uphold Te Tiriti, it is incumbent upon policymakers, as public servants, to fairly acknowledge Māori whānau and hapū, whose histories, values, and practices have long been marginalised and excluded from dominant narratives and systems.
The duo argues that true partnership under Te Tiriti may require the "uncoupling" of Māori land from the Reserves Act 1977 to restore tino rangatiratanga of ancestral lands.
"Strong connections to land are vital to Māori well-being and worth defending," Quigg said.
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