TUAIWA (EVA) RICKARD

Eva Rickard’s letter to the Queen of England
Te Kopua Road Raglan/Whaingaroa
Aotearoa
13 September 1995. [Edited by Xavier Meade].
Tena koe e te Kuini o Ingarangi,
Greetings to you oh Queen of England, I am a native of Aotearoa, tangata whenua, one of the First Nation Peoples of this land.
… I am now 70 years old and have recently been reminded of my great grandparents who were slain at Rangiriri Pa, and of my grandfather who though wounded by British soldiers escaped with his two year old sister by swimming the Waikato River and walking 70 miles overland to his tribe at Whaingaroa. Had he not escaped then I would not have been born.
… An apology for calling my people rebels was also demanded by those negotiating with your government. As a descendant of those rebels, I don’t expect an apology to Waikato.
… To be honest, my people would prefer action not words.
… no amount of talking is going to erase the mistakes, the pain, or dry the blood of my ancestors. My mother told me, to forgive if I could but never to forget, and as you can see I haven’t forgotten.
One hundred and sixty years ago on 28 October 1835, your ancestor King William signed the Declaration of Independence recognizing our Maori nation under the Confederation of Chiefs. That was at a time when we were trading, had an economic base and were prospering.
One hundred and fifty five years ago the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. Then began the decline of my people, te iwi Maori.
Once the treaty was signed your colonists began to claim the 66 million acres of our land. They have been busy ever since selling our land and its treasures to foreigners without our permission. You can stop them if you want to, or you can just be a picture on a $20 note.
… unfortunately successive governments in this country continue to betray that sacred document and have used it for their own purposes at enormous cost to us, your treaty partners.
… I come now to the real purpose of my letter. I write to inform you that I am declaring my Tribe’s Independent State in Whaingaroa, Aotearoa, New Zealand on the 12 February 1995.
The signing will take place on the 63 acres of land which was confiscated for an aerodrome during World War 2. Our village was demolished and our people made homeless by our forced contribution to the war effort.
... We were arrested on the 12 February 1978 during a sacred service on the burial grounds of our ancestors. Finally in 1984 some of the land, our original village site, was returned. The remainder is still and airport.
I can no longer sit and do nothing. No longer do I have to listen to my elders telling me to be peaceful and believe in God. My gods are my earth mother, my sky father, and their numerous children.
I am declaring my tribe’s independence, no matter what it may cost. Like my ancestors, I am willing to die for my people’s freedom. It is time that we determine our own future in our own land. If I have to die for this cause it will only be history repeating itself and I will have fulfilled my destiny.
… Just as you were born to be a queen, I was born to be a fighter for my people’s rights.
I remain, through my ancestor, one of your treaty partners and await your reply with interest.
Heoi ano,
Tuaiwa Hautai Kereopa