Arts Access Aotearoa: te Tiriti o Waitangi Statement

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. It defines the relationship between tangata whenua and the Crown and provides a basis for all citizens to live and belong here.

At its core, te Tiriti o Waitangi is about social justice, making it particularly relevant to the work of Arts Access Aotearoa. te Tiriti provides a platform for recognising Māori needs and aspirations, ensuring Māori can enjoy equitable opportunities and participate actively, both as citizens and within the organisations they belong to.

We commit to the following actions in upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi:

• We acknowledge te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa and will give effect to te Tiriti in our constitution, policies and practices.
• We recognise the status of Māori as tangata whenua of Aotearoa and will ensure that our organisational culture and work environment reflects Māori interests, aspirations and values.
• We are committed to upholding the articles and principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi. We work to uphold te tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake o tangata Māori, and we stand against all forms of oppression.

At Arts Access Aotearoa, we:

• honour our story and honour the storyteller
• work to remove barriers to self-expression
• lead from the front: we do and not just say
• honour all people, which is at the heart of our kaupapa.