Standards for the Teaching Profession

Tuesday, 21 September 2021

Ngati Kahu Histories Week 8

 The doctrine of discovery is the basis of racism in this country and is based on the belief that white white Christians are better than all other peoples.

Following this all members of the United nations had to sign up to the convention and pass legislation to outlaw racism in your country.  This didn't happen here until the 1970s.  

Many people of the years have gone to the Pope to ask the Vatican to repudiate (refuse to accept; reject) the Doctrine of Discovery.  To this day it has still not been done.

The Doctrine of Discovery is currently used to squash all Treaty claims.

It vests wealth, power and privilege in pakeha.

Racism is an attitude that you acquire or develop.  You are not born racist.  

Definition:  The attitudinal or ideological phenomenon that accepts that people can be classified into ‘races’ ... [which] can be ranked in terms of superiority and inferiority, and, when present in those in power, justifies them using that power to discriminate against and deprive others of what is rightfully theirs on the basis of their race.

What it does:  It structures social and political relationships and derives from a history of European colonialism. Is used as a justification in the oppression of colonised, non-European people and the maintenance of inequity in favour of Europeans who fear loss of their privilege, power and prosperity if racism is eliminated.

George Gips, governor of NSW was instructing Hobson.  He said once you declare sovereignty over somewhere that means the Crown owns all the Land.  This is simply not true.
The colonial office in London in the 1840s tried to say this was not right but Hobson didn't listen.

There were NO land sales prior to the time that Maori could speak english.  There is NO word in Maori which means to buy or sell.  This was not a word which can be found before the 1890s.   Therefore there can have been no understood land sales before this time as a concept was not one known to Maori.

They covered up the stealing of land using other made up terms; surplus land (wrongly claimed after 1840),  scrip lands, Crown grant, Crown purchase, consideration (see slides for explanation of terms).

"by fieat" if a pakeha wanted to claim a piece of land the crown would say, no you cant have it but (by fieat" it will become Crown land.

Maori would often say "We don't know how the pakeha got this land but they keep telling us that it is theirs."  This is often how the got the land.  The crown would just issue titles and allocate the titles and say that they now own it.

The pakeha who arrived here were very impoverished.  The Maori felt sorry for the and allowed them to come into the hapu and gave them land to stay on - after 1840 the missionaries said these had been land sales and went and claimed them.  This was not the intention, it was on the understanding that they would be staying there together. Tuku whenua.

Taipa / Oruru was land tuku whenua to a doctor, Samuel Ford, who claimed he would cure illness of the people which had come from the pakeha.  He didnt do this he went away and claimed script to take the land.

Tuku whenua was prior to the 1840.

After this was crown purchases which were actually land seizures.
When the Maori wouldn't give up the land they played divide and rule until they got what they wanted.  This continues today with Treaty Settlements.  The process is effectively the same.

Because of the Doctrine of Discovery if the Crown said they wanted it the Crown would take it.
We're white, we're supreme, We'll take it.

After claiming the land a lot of the pakeha didn't turn up so Maori were still on the land.
To drive out the Maori they used things such as the native land court, if you wanted this you went and found out if this Maori had any debts anywhere if they did the pakeha would pay the debt and then go and see the Maori and say I have paid your debts so now you have to give me your land.


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