Ngā Tamatoa formed
- When
- 1970–1979
- Where
- Auckland · Tāmaki Makaurau
- Reach
- Nationwide
A group of young urban Māori activists, many university-educated, began confronting the state over te reo, the Treaty and racism — loudly and publicly.
Ngā Tamatoa emerged from the first generation raised in cities, fluent in protest politics and unwilling to wait. They disrupted Waitangi Day ceremonies, campaigned against the loss of te reo in schools, and delivered the 1972 language petition. Their tactics were criticised at the time as divisive; nearly every one of their demands has since become government policy.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
No Maoris, No Tour
A petition of 162,000 signatures opposed sending an All Black team to South Africa with Māori players excluded. The tour went ahead anyway.
WellingtonThe Springbok tour
Fifty-six days that split the country. Protesters occupied the pitch at Hamilton and stopped the game; by the final test, police in riot gear fought crowds outside Eden Park.
Rugby Park, HamiltonThe great Māori urban migration
Māori went from about 25 percent urban in 1945 to nearly 80 percent by 1975 — one of the fastest urbanisations recorded anywhere.
The Māori language petition
Te petihana reo Māori
Ngā Tamatoa and Te Reo Māori Society delivered a 30,000-signature petition asking for te reo to be taught in schools. The date is now Māori Language Day.
Parliament, Wellington