Hīkoi leader ‘excited and equally nervous’ ahead of march for Treaty of Waitangi
Monday, 11 November 2024
Hīkoi mo te Tiriti aims to stop Treaty Principles Bill and promote unity of Māori and Tangata Tiriti.
The 9-day hīkoi will involve vehicle convoys, runners, marches and protests.
The hīkoi will pass through Kaitaia, Kawakawa, Whangārei, Dargaville and Tāmaki Makaurau before reaching Wellington by November 19.
On the eve of the Hīkoi mo te Tiriti, Eru Kapa-Kīngi was feeling excited, but also nervous.
Kapa-Kīngi (Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi), 28, is one of the leaders of Toitū Te Tiriti, a group that intends “to demonstrate the beginning of a unified Aotearoa response to the Government’s assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.” They have organised the hīkoi.
Stuff caught up with Kapa-Kingi on Sunday morning, at the start of a busy day as he prepared to head to Te Kao where hīkoi supporters met at Pōtahi Marae for a final hui at 6pm ahead of the hīkoi which sets off from Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Rēinga at 7am today (Monday).
The goals of the hīkoi are to show the unity of Māori and Tangata Tiriti, to stop the Treaty Principles Bill, and for mokopuna to be able to “live their best Māori lives,” he said.
The hīkoi will travel from Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Rēinga to Parliament from November 11 to 19.
“We’ve done all the preparation which is the hard part, now its just about execution. There’s a whole team behind me, we’ve been working on this for a while, we just have to do the thing now,” he said.
When asked what preparation looked like for this hīkoi, Kapa-Kingi said “a lot of zoom meetings”.
“I’ve lost count of how many zooms I’ve been on from early in the morning to late at night. So there’s just a lot of kōrero. Some have been extremely productive, some not so much,” he said.
From that starting point, the hīkoi will pass through Kaitaia, with an activation at 10am. The hīkoi will then stop in Kawakawa for an activation, and stop at Terenga Parāoa Marae in Whangārei for the night, a 12-hour journey all up, growing in size on the way.
On Tuesday the marchers will begin the journey to Tāmaki Makaurau, stopping in Dargaville for an activation along the way.
Kapa-Kīngi has described it as a “straight up the guts” hīkoi, inspired by the original Māori land march led by Dame Whina Cooper and others that followed.
Fifty people set off with Cooper and Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa on the 1975 land march. By the time it reached Parliament a month later, it had swelled to 5000 and 60,000 had signed a petition calling for the ability to establish legitimate communal ownership of land within iwi.
Kapa-Kingi said possibly 200 people could be leaving Pōtahi Marae on Monday.
Almost 50 years later, Kapa-Kingi says this Hīkoi could grow to ten times that size, even bigger.
This hīkoi would be a series of vehicle convoys, runners covering ground inbetween rally points, marches and protests.
When asked if the hīkoi was an example of past generations handing the torch to young people, Kapa-Kingi said while there was no disrespect intended toward older generations, sometimes “you needed to take the torch and run with it“.
“Its partially a handing over, but I want to be clear, sometimes you have to just take it,” he said.
“When I think of tipuna like Maui, he never asked permission for anything. He just did what he thought needed to be done.”
“[Hone Heke] would have just been over 30 at the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but already by that point he had already established a reputation as a fearsome leader.”
Kapa-Kingi said he didn’t “buy into the myth” that you needed to be 60+ to make a difference for te iwi Māori.
“I say this with the utmost respect to older generations who have done a lot for te iwi Māori, but a part of honouring them is also just doing the mahi.”
Meanwhile on Sunday, police established a Major Operations Centre (MOC) to provide oversight of the police response to the upcoming hīkoi.
The MOC, based at Police National Headquarters in Wellington, will provide logistical, resource and communication support to all districts along the hīkoi route.
Major Operations Director Superintendent Kelly Ryan said police have been engaged with hīkoi organisers for many weeks.
“Our discussions with organisers to date have been positive and we expect the hīkoi to be conducted in a peaceful and lawful manner,” she says.
“We’ve planned for large numbers to join the hīkoi, with disruption likely to some roads, including highways and main streets along the route,” Ryan said.
“The MOC will support our frontline, district-based staff with the management of people, vehicles and activities, while also maintaining central oversight.
“We will continue to co-ordinate with iwi leaders and our partners across government to ensure public safety and minimal disruption to people going about their daily routine.
Ryan said police were also connected with Waka Kotahi NZTA and councils to ensure road users have up to date information.
“The MOC will remain in place while the hīkoi is in Wellington and as participants make their way back home safely.”