Cityside and te Tiriti o Waitangi: what can it mean for us to honour te Tiriti?

I’m often asked why Cityside engages so deeply with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Why is this important? Isn’t it a political issue? Why is it a Christian issue? And why is it central to the Cityside community? What does the end goal look like?

I believe these are not questions I alone need to answer. Rather, they are questions for the community—because honouring Te Tiriti is a value many of you hold individually. When we gather, that shared commitment makes it significant to our collective identity.

Many of us already engage with Te Tiriti in our workplaces—whether in education, healthcare, environmental advocacy, civil engineering, architecture, planning, or management. As a community, we are familiar with Te Tiriti and understand its importance to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Tiriti is the founding document that grants non-Māori the privilege to live in this land. It was not granted through conquest or ceding sovereignty to the British Crown, as some claim, but through an agreement made in good faith between two peoples. This means we Pākehā and tauiwi are directly implicated in it. Ignorance may be convenient, but just as ignorance of the law does not absolve one from its consequences, ignorance of Te Tiriti does not change its significance or commitments.

Churches, too, have historically benefited from land acquisition. The concept of tuku whenua meant Pākehā were granted the use of land, but many assumed it was a permanent gift. If the land was no longer used for its intended purpose, it was meant to be returned. Figures like Samuel Marsden expanded their holdings through questionable dealings and legal structures imposed by the Crown, which ultimately alienated Māori from up to 90% of their land by the year 2000.

Churches now face a critical question: What happens to the land when a church closes? While they may have legal title under Crown law, Te Tiriti asserts that Māori land rights were meant to be protected. If land was taken unjustly, what responsibility do we bear? The wealth generated from such land is vast, yet little of it has directly benefited Māori.

Honouring Te Tiriti is not a partisan issue—neither National nor Labour has a clean record. This is about justice. Over 500 representatives of fifty to eighty hapū signed Te Tiriti with the British Crown for mutual benefit. The question is: Have both parties upheld their commitments? If not, what needs to be done? How does just reparation take place?

For Christians, this is a matter of justice. Who has been wronged? How can we advocate and act, especially if we have benefited from this injustice? I am passionate about this because I believe restoration is possible. Walking the path of justice benefits us all. It offers an antidote to the chaos around us and demonstrates how difference can be unified without erasure. The Church has an opportunity to embody meaningful change through repentance and restoration. If we look to scripture, this is Isaiah’s vision of mountains being leveled and valleys raised, Mary’s Magnificat where the powerful are brought down and the lowly lifted up, Christ’s command to treat others as we wish to be treated. It is the essence of loving God, loving people, and loving self.

One reason we focus on Te Tiriti at Cityside is that it is already integrated into our daily lives. This is not just a theoretical stance but a lived reality. Our conversations on justice naturally led to practices such as singing waiata, incorporating karakia, engaging in reading groups, hosting guest speakers, participating in wānanga, learning Te Reo Māori, and exploring whakapapa. As we examined Cityside’s history, we had to consider the land, its people, and our place in that story. Our engagement with Te Ao Māori is not separate from our broader lives but informs and reinforces our spiritual and vocational practices.

Another reason Te Tiriti matters to Cityside is our commitment to justice. When injustice is evident, we cannot ignore it. A prophetic role of the Church is to speak truth to power. This is part of our history. Addressing systemic racism, acknowledging our own privilege as a predominantly Pākehā community, and striving for integrity in our advocacy aligns with our core values. Cityside provides a space where we can grapple with these issues thoughtfully and courageously.

A third reason is that Te Tiriti is about two distinct peoples working together for peace. Despite rhetoric suggesting otherwise, this is not divisive. A treaty is, by definition, an agreement between different parties, not a tool for assimilation. The context of this agreement was Christian, and it is our responsibility to seek reconciliation where harm has been done. When two perspectives meet with genuine intent, both are enriched.

Over the years, I have come to realize that Cityside is not curating a Māori space—and that’s okay. We are a predominantly Pākehā/settler community, and our role is not to ‘Māorify’ ourselves but to become the kind of Pākehā with whom Māori would want to sign a treaty. In seeking to honour Te Tiriti, we aim to create a safe space for Māori who join us. Our engagement with Te Ao Māori strengthens relationships rather than appropriating knowledge. Learning and using Te Reo, practicing tikanga when appropriate, and fostering an environment where Māori can be fully themselves with us—this is why we do what we do.

This commitment strengthens our faith and our daily work. It aligns our spiritual practice with our professional and personal lives, creating a consistent and meaningful connection between faith and justice.

Allow me to conclude with the words of the prophet Jeremiah (6:16):

Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads, and look,
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way lies;
and walk in it.

Then you will find rest for your souls.

Perhaps the Church might answer this divine call differently than the ancient Israelites, who responded: 

‘We will not walk in it.’ (Garry Worete Deverell)

Cityside stands as a refuge, a place of restoration and relationship. We celebrate and embrace difference, walking the good path together.