Ngapuhi Never Ceded Sovereignty - Now what?

Whakae ana au i tou korero e matua. Yep blunt there and I agree, this is a conversation that deserves its space...its also nice to know whom you are heading into battle with too.
Trying to read between the lines then... , Mena e hiahia ana matou ki te anga whakamua wenei kaupapa (aa nga kereme) hei poupou te hikoi whakaio o te iwi, tena pea me whakahauhau i te iwi whanui... me aata heare i te timatanga, ano me whakaatu kia ratou nga Rangatira katoa, ko matou ano hoki nga uri e whakapono ai i te whakaputanga me aana tikanga. Ka rua, ka taea ana tatou ki te hikoi tahi pea?

Is an attept to settle anxiety worthwhile? even if there are those that cannot place faith in others and may never. Is just fear the root of mistrust? Supposing only time and proximity coud alleviate this. Perhaps then to expediate trust, some acknowledgement may be called for? a declaration or "open letter" clearly signaling that no agreement will be signed whixh would jeopordize our Rangatiratanga. A message from Ngapuhi for Ngapuhi. Just an idea?

Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty. I get it. We never ceded sovereignty. So then, is our sovereignty dead or alive? What does sovereignty look like in present practical terms when its alive?

Well, we'd be in control of our own resources of course. We would be managing our own affairs, our own families, our own land ourselves. We could defend ourselves if attacked by overseas warring parties, have our own system for the exchange, barter or other means of our own choosing. We’d manage our own fisheries, seafood, coastline, seas, manage our own religious system, -if we had one or two. We would feed our own people, organise our own political boundaries, have our own form of self government etc, etc. Life would be great! I’m sure you get my drift.

But what if our sovereignty is dead and we didn’t see that. What if we missed that part and have awakened to find that we had been over-run by bald heads? Hehehe!

We find that DOC controls all our lands unextinguished of native title, that our foreshore and seabed had disappeared under some legal fiction with real teeth, that someone else tells us how many Kina we can get, and how much fish under their quota system. Our families are managed and controlled by another entity, not ourselves, we line up for our dole money, our land is over-run by pine trees for export of our own capital, our water is given over to other countries and we find that large warehouses had been built at Ngawha to house our own people ....

I’m sure we get the picture but should we close our eyes to it NO, get angry NO, fight back NO, NO, NO. Why? Because we’re here now. Accept the reality of the present moment. It is what it is.

The settlement of another Trust machinery is crawling forward legally ensuring to dot the ayes and cross the tees. This all being done while we sleep, while we dream that we are of another world, a wairua world.

So where to now? He Whakaputanga o nga rangatira 1835 and practical sovereignty is the where Hoani.

Ok tautoko

Kia ora ano e hoa. It isn’t hoha...... it’s actually what we do all all the time. It be good if we were to frame laws but that ain’t the case at the moment..... oops, unless we can show which law we framed without the current system and where and who enforces said law.

On currency, oh you mean trade on the pakeha global financial markets with their fiat money? Granted, someone has to hold the credit and I reckon we do but that’s another story. He Whakaputanga is the currency of the hour and is worthy of wananga otherwise we charge ahead with eyes wide shut. We haven’t yet even begun to talk about what ‘settlement’ means and I think we’d should do that with some urgency but one at a time aye!

Its not given by acknowledgment from another state> or court> Thats just Hoha. It must be taken, through self-determination. Sovereignety is the power of life and death, to frame laws that a people will abide by and enforce those laws. To govern ones own currency and to float in a global market.
Contemplating won't get us there. Organisation will.
Move forward together with eyes open. If we aren't happy with terms of settlement> Negotiate harder or Pull the Plug. No probelem> Theres way too much anxietey amongst the people where people look sideways at each other, wondering who is domesticated or not lol
The hardest action is the most effective, to oraganise and communicate as one.

Kia ora e Hoani,

Thanks for your comments. Sooo what say you? Is Hoani saying he never ceded sovereignty or is it Ngapuhi saying that. If it is Ngapuhi the Hapu/iwi/entity who is making the statement, how do we as rangatira disregard that priority and rush headlong into settlement? Is it not time we had a go at defining the length and breadth of what we mean when we say ‘Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty’?

What does that look like when we, — that is to say rangatira, or representatives of the said Ngapuhi, go cap in hand to fit in with the government/Crown’s terms and conditions of settlement? Are we OK with that? Could we be protesting too loudly when no one is suggesting we had in fact ceded sovereignty? ‘Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty’ who said such a thing and what was in the mind of whomever spoke those words? Peace, love, or maybe other emotions.

Finally for now....... Doctor Ranginui Walker penned the phrase, Ka whawhai tonu matou. What is the point of such a position? Turmoil, dissatisfaction, unfulfilment, anger, ill health, death.

Its most definitely our time to place positive statements and repaint the canvass with new hope, new life; a life with great outcomes for ourselves. For ourselves means that we take responsibility for what we do in now time, for all humanity as against projecting forward the blame.

Keep up the good work Hoani.

We should be focused to move ahead in Peace.
Zero forms of violence or force needed. I don't think we need to protest or lobby or apply to any court (anywhere). The world wants to head where we do, which is to freedom.
Its the how which is hard.

Status Quo is easy and path of least resistance which is why we chuck our rubbish in council tips> because its easy. Not many like doing things the hard/ long way but...
When we get it right, the whole world will look towards us with respect, and a willingness to co-operate and understand how we achieved success.
Success = Holistic Health & Well being.

When we can stand on our own feet and face the global issues interdependently, we will be 100% Sovereign. Naivety about how difficult this reality is, annoys me. Our Kaumatua tell us they expect 40+ years from today, to be the ETA. It begins in mindset shifts, but at some point must meet the Earth.. Practicalities. We need Homes & Jobs & many things in between. When we achieve this in Style, then we'll be Leading Global Sovereigns.

For me, Practical Sovereignty equals 100% Self - Sustainability with a healthy portion reliant on Trade with outside sovereign entities. Trade Rongoa, trade Matauranga & Rangahau.
Encompassing this end goal in our planning, then communicating the vision is Key. With clear Coms, 95% of New Zealand will support our effort. We need to have that sewn up.

Every journey has a beginning, and the people walking need supplies.
So long as our Legal rights are not impeded (because we remain vigilant and make sure) We should use every practical lever including a redress settlement to sustain our momentum.
With Transparency we can monitor all attempts to derail our progress.

As soon as we meet any issue within a Redress Settlement or other Legal process which threatens the vision; We agree to hold ground until a solution can be laid.
Benefits of this are we begin to move as one. Who cares if we settle?
What matters is we're organizing.