The Treaty - Why is it important? * We need to understand the past to understand the present * Bi-cultural practise = treaty-based practice * All students should have opportunity to learn about Te Reo, Māori culture * Teachers have a role in helping the future generation understand their past and each other (students) * Our country's history (and ours) is a woven mix of Māori and European culture Assimilation European migration carried a social policy known as 'assimilation', or that races were hierarchically from 'savage' to civilised races. The British government of the time saw themselves and their culture as superior, and that other cultures should be taught how to 'be' British. Native schools were established to 'assimilate Māori to the habits and usages of the European' (Consedine, R & Consedine, J (2001) Healing Our History: The Challenge of the Treaty of Waitangi ). The Treaty Debate 'Māori seek justi...