Posted
on July 23, 2016
Today's
famous birthday was the Maori queen for 40 years.
The Maori is a
group of people native to New Zealand. The position of queen (or
king) of the Maori doesn't hold any constitutional power within the
New Zealand government; however, it is the leading position of the
Waikato-Tainui federation of iwi (tribes).
Te
Atairangikaahu
was very supportive of Maori cultural events and sports. She also was
active in the worldwide effort of dealing with indigenous issues.
That means that she tried to make sure that native peoples gained or
maintained rights within their various nations. Because of the past
history of colonization, conquest, and slavery, many people who are
the descendants of the first people to come to a particular continent
or island have been faced with exploitation, oppression, forced
assimilation, even genocide.
In
other words, indigenous peoples have often lost their freedom, their
culture, their language, even their lives. And even today many find themselves minorities in their own land, facing stereotypes and discrimination from the descendants of their people's colonizers or conquerors.
Because of Te Atairangikaahu's work on the behalf of the Maori and other indigenous peoples, she was awarded Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
 |
| This 1974 photo shows Queen Elizabeth, figurative head of New Zealand and the rest of the British Commonwealth, left, meeting Queen Te Atairangikaahu, head of the Maori and Dame of the British Empire. |
Te
Atairangikaahu
was born on this date in 1931. She was elected to be queen after her
father, the king died. (That's right – among the Maori, rulers such
as queens and kings are elected. But they are generally chosen from
among the past king / queen's children or from a leading member of
another iwi. Apparently a “kingmaker” makes the choice, based on
personality and characteristics of the likely prospects, and then
consent is asked from all the chiefs of the various iwi.)
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