Tangata tiriti

 ( Māori Words And Phrases ) 

Tangata Tiriti (or tangata tiriti) is a Māori-language phrase used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Māori in New Zealand, or 'people of the Treaty', in reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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Etymology In the Māori language it means ‘people of the treaty’. Tangata is a human or individual. Not capitalised 'tiriti' refers to a treaty, and capitalised Tiriti, refers to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the treaty written in Māori language and signed in 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and representatives of Māori, the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand. First coined by Eddie Durie, the chair of the Waitangi Tribunal, at Waitangi in 1989. He referred to Tangata Tiriti as those who belong to Aotearoa New Zealand by right of te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi."A Special Relationship: Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti." New Zealand 1990: Official Souvenir Publication. Auckland, N.Z.: Dow, 1990. 18.

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Meaning and use The Oxford Dictionary of New Zealandisms published in 2014 defines tangata Tiriti as, "non-indigenous New Zealanders, in Treaty of Waitangi partnership with Māori as tangata whenua."

Sociologist Avril Bell states that the reference of non-Maōri as tangata Tiriti is to acknowledge that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is not just about Māori, but also about non-Māori.

Avril Bell (2024). 9781776711345, Auckland University Press. . ISBN 9781776711345

Non-Māori are many ethnicities and heritages in New Zealand, and are also named tauiwi (Maori language word meaning foreigner, non-Maori). There is a growing body of discourse about the term tangata Tiriti being not a passive identity, but active. Scholar Lincoln Dam describes the term as, "a relational orientation that invokes ethical-political responsibilities. These responsibilities include seeking to understand settler identities, building productive relationships with Māori, engaging with critical histories of Aotearoa-New Zealand, and supporting Māori struggles for justice."

Categories: Māori Words And Phrases, Ethno-cultural Designations

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