tangata tiriti

Maori

Etymology

A modern Māori language term which is taken to mean 'people of the treaty' and refers to all non-Māori citizens and residents of Aotearoa New Zealand. First coined by Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie, the chair of the w: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. The term gained some broader exposure when it was presented to mainstream New Zealand in 2006 in a human rights commission document published by Auckland Workers Educational Association, Tangata Tiriti - Treaty People (2006).

Noun

tangata tiriti

1. "People of the Treaty", or New Zealanders of non-Māori origin.
2. Includes all non-Māori people who have a right to live in New Zealand under the Treaty of Waitangi.

Related terms

• tangata whenua (the people of the land, aboriginals): In New Zealand, the indigenous Maori people.
• pākehā/pakeha (Europeans)