Ngā Tamatoa

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Ngā Tamatoa (the young warriors) was a Māori activist group that operated from the early 1970s until 1979, and existed to fight perceived threats to Māori culture and confront injustices perpetrated by the New Zealand Government, particularly violations of the Treaty of Waitangi.

It emerged through a conference at the University of Auckland organised by the academic Ranginui Walker and consisted of a group of mainly urban and educated Māori, and took offense at the continuing confiscation of land and degradation of the Maori language. The group took inspiration from liberation and indigenous movements across the world.

Members of the organisation included health worker and activist Tame Iti and Syd Jackson. One of the incidents the organisation was involved in was breaking up the University of Auckland "haka party" an annual event where engineering students would parody Māori culture.

The group initiated the annual protests at Waitangi on Waitangi Day, in 1973 after Prime Minister Norman Kirk changed the name of the day to 'New Zealand Day'. The group claimed that the "Treaty is a fraud" because of the ongoing breaches committed by the Government. Nga Tamatoa wore black armbands to the celebrations to mourn the loss of Maori land much of which had been confiscated or annexed by state legislation. The Auckland Maori Council declared their support of the protest by making a submission that cited fourteen statutes that were currently breaching the Treaty.

The day had until then been seen by most New Zealanders as a day of celebration. Waitangi protests grew to include much of the Māori community and have had a significant influence to the present day.