Modern Developments
In 2007, Sydney-based Māori academic Brent Kerehona questioned whether the Ngāpuhi chief Moka 'Kainga-mataa' did in fact sign the treaty, as has been claimed by historians and academics of the past. Moka was an original signatory to the Declaration of Independence on 28 October 1835, the sole Maori signatory to Hobson's Proclamations on 30 January 1840 (only seven days prior to the Treaty signing) and voiced his concerns about the Treaty's effects whilst he was at the Treaty meeting on 5 February 1840. Kerehona infers that despite his name appearing on the Treaty of Waitangi, there is no accompanying mark or signature; and that the conversation on 5 February, between Moka, the Reverend Charles Baker and Captain William Hobson, recorded by William Colenso (1890), should also be considered.
As of October 2010, Ngāpuhi's claim that sovereignty was not given up in their signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is being investigated by the Waitangi Tribunal. The Waitangi Tribunal, in Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry (Wai 1040) is in the process of considering the Māori and Crown understandings of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga / The Declaration of Independence 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi 1840.
Many of the arguments being used are outlined in Paul Moon's 2002 book Te Ara Ki Te Tiriti: The Path to the Treaty of Waitangi, which argued that not only did the Maori signatories have no intention of transferring sovereignty, but that at the time the British government and James Busby did not wish to acquire it and that the developments and justifications leading to the present state were later developments. It is estimated that the hearings will last between four and six years, and may serve a serious precedent for all Maori tribal groups if the Tribunal recognizes Ngāpuhi sovereignty. A common Ngāpuhi interpretation of the Declaration of the United Tribes is that the British government was simply recognizing Māori independence and putting the world on check, merely re-asserting sovereignty that had existed from "time immemorial".
Read more about this topic: United Tribes Of New Zealand
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