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History Never Repeats? The Waitangi Tribunal and New Zealand History
Author(s) -
Morris Ewan
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/1478-0542.029
Subject(s) - tribunal , treaty of waitangi , jurisdiction , treaty , law , government (linguistics) , political science , history , linguistics , philosophy
In 1985, the New Zealand government extended the jurisdiction of the Waitangi Tribunal, a quasi‐judicial body formed to investigate Maori claims of breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, back to the time of the signing of the Treaty in 1840. As a result, the Tribunal entered the business of writing history. The history that appears in Tribunal reports, however, has some distinctive features that distinguish it from other types of historical writing, and this article explores some of these features. The article argues that the Tribunal's historical reports have sought not only to explain the losses suffered by Maori in the past, but also to suggest a better way forward for Maori and non‐Maori in the future.