The flag flies on Waitangi day

Submitted by Anonymous on 7 February 2007 - 1:53pm
in
  • Indigenous Struggles
  • Local
  • Tino Rangatiratanga

"As the wild wet winds continue to whip around Waitangi. Feburary 6th 2007 showed that although the flag did not fly on THAT bridge, the Maori Independence Flag, pretty much flew everywhere else" said Teanau Tuiono.

Indigenous brothers and sisters flew the flag in solidarity in Sydney and the States. The flag flew on One Tree Hill and of course up at Waitangi, UNITE flew the flag from their office on Queen st. Queen Victoria was seen with the flag in Wellington, it was also seen on a Greenpeace ship in the deep deep south ( and yes those are icebergs in the background, nice one Logi ). Someone even sent us a picture of their harley with the Tino Rangatiratanga symbol on it, ( shot Reg from Te Araroa! ). ( more pictures at www.aocafe.com ) brbr Kiritapu Allan continued "The Tino Rangatiratanga flag symbolises the long tradition of struggle and resistance by Maori against colonisation and the Crown sponsored theft of Maori land and resources. It is a symbol used by Maori who continue to resist the pressures of colonisation and cultural and economic genocide. It is part of the international movement of indigenous peoples drive for self-determination. Such a concept embraces the spiritual link Maori have with 'Papatuanuku' (Earthmother) and is a part of the international drive by indigenous people for self determination."

Comments

Re: The flag flies on Waitangi day

Submitted by Anonymous on 10 February 2007 - 9:52pm.

Kei te kapakapa mai, te haki, te haki, i ngaa rangi runga Aotearoa!

My eighty-one year old mother, (paakehaa, like me) who has never been noted for seeing things from a Maori perspective, said, "I wanted to write a letter to the paper saying, 'Why not make that flag [the tino rangatiratanga flag] the official flag for this country?' And then I saw that Rudman had beaten me to it in his column in the Herald. It's so obvious. It should be the flag for all of us."

We don't need a referendum. We just need to let the flag spread, like the nuclear-free zones, and one day we'll wake up and it will be our flag just as the South Africans and the Canadians have found their flags. And ever better perhaps, because it will be the first time perhaps, that a settler majority have accepted a flag from the tangata whenua and let it fly over them. Kia tae mai taua waa! Mihi atu ki ngaa tuupuna Maaori moo too koutou kaha ki te aroha, ki te manawanui, ahakoa te mamae, ahakoa te peehitanga o ngaa tikanga Maaori, o te reo rangatira hoki; ahakoa ngaa mahi tahae, mahi tinihanga hoki o ngaa kaihorohoro whenua. Mihi atu ki ngaa taangata whenua na naaianei hoki. Kia puta mai ngaa hua pai o oo koutou whawhai i te tika, i te oranga o ngaa mea katoa o eenei motu.