It may not mean much to my friends outside of New Zealand, but the Treaty of Waitangi (signed in 1840) between the British Crown and Māori tribal leaders is an important foundational document in New Zealand history.

While kiwis take the day off and roll out the BBQs and head down to the beach in the scorching southern summer it is a good time to reflect on the role of the state in our daily lives.

The Treaty of Waitangi has become extremely controversial in recent years as part of a more broad culture war facilitated by the media that pits the idea of Māori and non-Māori against each other in a spectacle of imagery and rhetoric, even though New Zealand is a highly integrated and friendly society generally.

There is a lot to learn about what the Māori (and all New Zealanders) should expect from the treaty including rangatiratanga which can be translated as self-sovereignty, and some interesting history around the movements to decentralise banking by Māori in the early days.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (our central bank) in particular attempts to lay claim as being true to the Treaty, of being positive for Māori and for the people, even though it is one of the largest oppressing forces of the state. They evoke Māori folk god imagery, and go so far as to call themselves guardians of the financial system, while actually being the root cause of massive cost of living and inflation.

📖 If you are interested in learning more, check out this excellent article by Ben Jarvie exploring the relationship between the Treaty of Waitangi and Central Banking in New Zealand (featured in Bitcoin Magazine): New Zealand's Past, Pūtea, and Future: CBDC vs Bitcoin

🎧 I also did an in-depth interview a while back with Ben Jarvie on the Transformation of Value Podcast: Māori Sovereignty and Self-determination Through Bitcoin with Ben Jarvie