Maori

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Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (Aotearoa).

The Tino Rangatiratanga flag, also known as the national Māori flag, is used to represent the Māori people of New Zealand. In 2009, the Tino Rangatiratanga flag (also simply Tino) was selected as the national Māori flag after a nationwide consultation. It was first revealed on Waitangi Day in 1990. Though it does not have official status from the New Zealand Government, it has been used by the government on official occasions.

Description[]

The national Māori flag uses the national colours of New Zealand: black, red ochre, and white or silver. Each of the colours references a realm in the creation story of Māori mythology: black is Te Korekore (potential being), red is Te Whai Ao (coming into being), and white is Te Ao Mārama (the realm of being and light). The design features a koru (Māori for fern frond), a common design in Māori tattoo and sculpture. It symbolises renewal and hope for the future. The white part of the flag is also a reference to the Māori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, or "Land of the Long White Cloud."

History[]

Creation[]

In 1989, the New Zealand government was preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, a historical document between the British colonial government and the indigenous Māori people. In response to this celebration, several Māori independence organizations, including Te Kawariki, sought to raise awareness of the ways in which the treaty had been breached. Te Kawariki, inspired by the Australian Aboriginal Flag, decided to hold a public contest for a design. However, they did not feel any of the contest submissions fitted what they were looking for, artist Hiraina Marsden created her design, that was later sewed by Jan Smith, and Linda Munn and others of Te Kawariki. The artists consulted local Māori in a hui, Jan Smith and other members of Te Kawariki sewed the first Māori flag. The flag was first revealed to the public on 6 February, Waitangi Day, 1990. It quickly gained popularity among Māori.

Use and recognition[]

A Maori advocacy group, Te Ata Tino Toa, applied for the national Māori flag to fly on the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitangi Day beginning in 2008. Initially, Transit New Zealand, the government agency that was responsible for the bridge, declined on the basis that the flag did not represent a country recognised by the United Nations. After campaigning with a number of tactics, including lobbying Transit New Zealand and Parliament, submissions to the Human Rights Commission, and holding an annual 'Fly the Flag' competition, the government agreed to fly a Māori flag provided that there was a consensus on which one to fly. A Māori Party–led promotion and series of hui led to 1,200 submissions, with 80% of participants in favor of the Tino Rangatiratanga flag as the preferred Māori flag.

On 14 December 2009, Prime Minister John Key and Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples announced the flag would fly from the Auckland Harbour Bridge and other official buildings (such as Premier House) on Waitangi Day. Key explained that it would not replace the New Zealand flag but would fly alongside it, in recognition of the partnership between the Crown and the Māori since the Treaty of Waitangi, stating: "No changes are being made to the status of the New Zealand flag". The move was met with some criticism, with Monarchy New Zealand describing the move as "potentially divisive", to which Key responded that it symbolised unity and improving race relations.

In the 2015–2016 New Zealand flag referendums, organisers approached the Tino Rangatiratanga flag designers about the possibility of including it as a candidate for a national flag, but the designers declined.

Maori

Contents

Description[]

History[]

Creation[]

Use and recognition[]

Other Māori flags[]

Proposals/Redesigns[]

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