Through building knowledge about contexts and drawing on inquiry practices, I have a broader and deeper understanding that:
Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand
Māori have been settling, storying, shaping, and have been shaped by these lands and waters for centuries. Māori history forms a continuous thread, directly linking the contemporary world to the past. It is characterised by diverse experiences for individuals, hapū, and iwi within underlying and enduring cultural similarities.
Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for the past 200 years
The settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand has contributed to an increasingly diverse population, with many languages and cultures now part of its fabric. Colonisation began as part of a worldwide imperial project. It has been a complex, contested process, experienced and negotiated differently in different parts of Aotearoa New Zealand over time. Aotearoa New Zealand has also colonised parts of the Pacific.
The course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories has been shaped by the use of power
Individuals, groups, and organisations have exerted and contested power in ways that improve the lives of people and communities, and in ways that lead to exclusion, injustice, and conflict.
Relationships and connections between people and across boundaries have shaped the course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories
People in Aotearoa New Zealand have been connected locally, nationally, and globally through voyaging, discovery, trade, aid, conflict, and creative exchanges. This has led to the adoption of new ideas and technologies, political institutions and alliances, and social movements.