Becoming Tangata Tiriti
Dr Chris Jansen opens up about his journey as a Pakeha New Zealander when it comes to understanding his identity as Tangata Tiriti .
Like many of us, I grew up in New Zealand without any real knowledge of our Aotearoa history. In my mid-teens I had a number of opportunities to realise that not everyone in New Zealand had the same chances, and that privilege was real. In contrast, my 17-year-old daughter spent four days recently at Waitangi on a Year 13 history field trip which had a profound impact on her.
Over my last four decades I have slowly learnt more and felt strongly compelled to be part of addressing the inequities I began to see around me. This mainly occurred through friendships where I could see first-hand the impact of prejudice and negative profiling. I have also been overcome at times with what is described as ‘Pakeha paralysis’. For me it was the tension between wanting to contribute, but also wanting to avoid any sense of tokenism, tick box or accidental appropriation of knowledge and actions.
One thing that I have found really helpful is the concept of Tangata Tiriti. Imagine a Venn diagram with two circles partially overlapping. One circle is Tangata Whenua – iwi Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa who developed ‘He Whakaputanga’, the Declaration of Independence around 1835. The second circle is Tangata Tiriti – people who have arrived as settlers in Aotearoa since then; this includes those whose ancestors came here in the 1800s and 1900s right through to those who have arrived last week. I have been shocked to see the way that in broad terms, the process of colonisation intentionally worked to diminish and attempt to even delete the Tangata Whenua circle – just as it has in many other countries around the world. Decolonisation is the process of reinstating the mana (or dignity) of both circles and we have a long way to go to achieve this. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was always intended to create a framework for both circles to thrive and relate together in ways where both groups flourish.
So, for me, I am strongly motivated to be part of this process and to face off the feelings of being paralysed or a fraud. One decision I made around 10 years ago is that in every meeting context when people are introducing themselves, I always share my pepeha (a te reo-based acknowledgement of the land that we stand on and the people who have allowed us to be here today). In the past I shared this occasionally and was often indecisive. However, once I realised that it was part of my Tangata Tiriti identity as a citizen of Aotearoa, I realised it was always important. I have also been blessed with close Māori friends and colleagues who have answered my hundreds of questions and been patient with me as I learn and unlearn. I am noticing that my consciousness is growing and this is positively affecting many of my personal and professional priorities and actions.
In 2022, my commitment is to move beyond not doing harm, to moving towards taking proactive steps and intentional acts to be part of restoring mana to those who have had it taken. As a Pakeha I am fully committed to my identity as Tangata Tiriti and I continue to journey with the hesitancy, vulnerability and joy that this involves.
Dr Chris Jansen is a director and senior consultant with Leadership Lab and works alongside organisations in the education, health, business and community sectors on a range of projects. Chris is also a senior lecturer at the University of Canterbury, where he teaches the Master of Business Administration and Postgraduate Diploma of Strategic Leadership.
