Māori leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth

Several Māori leaders paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth today, but many also acknowledged a complex array of feelings from tangata whenua.

During her reign, the Queen had many meetings with Māori leaders, and visited many marae and Waitangi, often with great fanfare, but also with protest.

The Kiingitanga, however, said today was a time of mourning, with Kiingi Tuheitia and Makau Ariki Atawhai sending "their aroha and respect" in a statement.

Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds said the houses of Windsor and Turangawaewae had a deep relationship, particularly with the late Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairaangikahu.

"One of profound respect, grace and beauty as the two of them sought to embody, certainly from the Kiingitanga perspective, the heart of Treaty relationships," Simmonds said.

From her earliest days as monarch, Queen Elizabeth visited marae and Māori communities across the country.

These visits were often cause for celebration, with her presence filling out marae and racecourses with enthusiastic haka and powhiri, as historian Professor Tom Roa recalled.

"The absolute joy of our elders and of the people when she insisted that the car stop, and she got off and walked amongst our people at Turangawaewae," he said.

But for many Māori, it was also a cause for raruraru.

After all, the Queen is the figurehead of the Crown, the monarch in whose name many colonising acts were committed.

Acts which were never forgotten by Māori, and despite being a drawcard for celebration, she could also draw protest.

One of the most heated was at the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1990, where she was jeered, a flag was thrown at her, and she was the subject of a speech from the Bishop of New Zealand, Whakahuihui Vercoe.

"Since the signing of the treaty 150 years ago, I want to remind our partner that you have marginalised us. You have not honoured the Treaty, we have not honoured each other."

"The partner that has been marginalised is me, the language of this land is yours," Vercoe said.

But the Queen responded to mounting agitation in her speech: "The disappointment felt by succeeding generations has led to an intense scrutiny of the Treaty ... it is encouraging to know that progress has been made in putting things right.

"We are strong enough and honest enough to learn the lessons of the last 150 years and to admit that the Treaty has been imperfectly observed."

Ngira Simmonds acknowledged there would be a complex range of emotions felt by many Māori.

"From a Kiingitanga perspective the passing of Queen Elizabeth is significant because she represents our Treaty partner, so it is important we respect her passing.

"We respect there is a tension there for te iwi Māori and we have to hold that tension in balance. But Kiingi Tuheitia firmly believes that this is a time where we acknowledge."

Ngāi Tahu leader Tā Tipene O'Regan said he believed the Queen herself took a great interest in putting things right.

Tā Tipene said the political debate in the early 1990s was questioning whether the Treaty applied to the South Island, with an argument that it did not because it was "discovered" in a different manner.

He said things changed when Queen Elizabeth had a hand in a speech made by the Governor General on her behalf at Waikawa Marae.

"She very plainly said that the Treaty applied in Te Waipounamu by right of cession and consequently, of course, I interpolate not by right of discovery.

"At that point the lawyers, commentariat, and Mr Muldoon ceased all talk. She knew what she was doing too," Tā Tipene said.

In 1995, Queen Elizabeth and Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu stood shoulder to shoulder to sign an Act with an apology from the Crown for the invasion and raupatu of Waikato.

Tom Roa said that stood out as a significant moment.

"That apology from the reigning sovereign of a colonising nation to a colonised people had never ever occurred before," he said.

"This significant event played a huge role in the recovery of our people."

Tom Roa said there would no doubt be debates to be had, but now was the time to mourn.

But either way, he said the Treaty would endure.