Declaration of Non-Participation

This Declaration of Non-Participation was part of a petition raised by artist Robyn Kahukiwa against Tuia – Encounters 250, the New Zealand government’s nationwide programme of events intended to celebrate Aotearoa’s Pacific voyaging history 250 years after the first collisions between Māori and Captain James Cook and the Endeavour crew in 1769. The petition invited Tangata Whenua (indigenous people of Aotearoa) to declare their opposition to Tuia 250.

Officially, Tuia 250 was a 'commemoration in 2019 marking 250 years since the first encounters between Māori and Pākehā in 1769. Tuia 250 celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific voyaging heritage and was a national opportunity to hold honest conversations about the past, the present and how we navigate our shared future' (https://mch.govt.nz/tuia250)

However, many felt that the government did not fully realise ‘the depth of ill-feeling towards the arrival of Cook from a Māori perspective’ (Moera Brown quoted in The Spinoff, 5 October 2019), and the problems of an event largely promoting a Pākehā history.

The key event was a flotilla which included a replica of the Endeavour. Activists dubbed it the 'death ship'. With its weapons of war and military crew, HMB Endeavour exacted a violent and deathly toll on indigenous populations. Nine Māori were killed by Cook’s men when they visited Aotearoa in 1769.

The declaration of non-participation challenged the official commemorations by reminding its receivers of the continuing ideologies of racism and white supremacy underpinning ‘discovery’ (i.e. invasion) and its commemoration.

This particular version of the declaration features Robyn Kahukiwa’s artwork which was also used for the cover of a book of critical essays on Tuia 250 by indigenous rights advocate Tina Ngata (Ngāti Porou). Titled Kia Mau: Resisting Colonial Fictions (2019), her work examines the decision by the New Zealand government to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the arrival of Captain Cook and the implications both for Māori and the wider global struggle against colonialism. Ngata also appealed to the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues.