@Miraz It sounded great to me. Were the Māori there a long time before immigrants arrived from Europe or elsewhere? How did they treat the Māori when they got there? As bad as the Native Americans were treated? Better/worse?
@Ron Thanks Ron. New Zealand had no humans (or land mammals apart from a couple of bats) until somewhere around 800-1200 AD the first Māori arrived. The first Europeans arrived around 1642. From about 1769 Europeans really started arriving. in 1840 a Treaty was signed guaranteeing Māori ownership and agency over all their own ‘treasures’ such as land, forests and water. Things went downhill from there… Since about 1990 there has been greater awareness and action to right the many many wrongs.
@Miraz Thanks so much. I just knew you'd have the facts. Do we know where the Māori came from? And did they also populate Australia or any of the other islands in the Pacific? Have they become assimilated as Kiwis, or are they kept separate like many of our Native Americans?
@Ron Thinking seems to be an origin for Māori in or near the Philippines, with migration east starting around 2,000-1,000 BC, to round about Tahiti. Then about 1200 AD migration west to New Zealand. teara.govt.nz/en/map/14... Does not include Australia.
@Ron As for assimilation… whew! That's very big and thorny. Current thinking is assimilation is NOT a desirable goal. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, allowed for Māori to be sovereign over themselves, but then followed a very troubled history with numerous very detrimental effects. These days we strive for a bicultural / multicultural society. There have also been reparations for wrongs done. But it's all WAY more complex than that, of course.
@Miraz Wow, what a great answer, with that excellent map. I've contacted people on most of those islands with my ham radios over many years. When I lived in CA, it was really easy to contact people in the Pacific because the salt water propagates the signals so much better than over land. I have always loved working kiwi stations, as they are so far away and generally lovely people and excellent skilled hams. Thanks so much for providing such top notch information!