New Zealand considers changing its name to Aotearoa to confront its past : NPR

Maori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer speak to media during the opening of New Zealand’s 53rd Parliament.

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Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Maori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer speak to media during the opening of New Zealand’s 53rd Parliament.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

As the people of New Zealand confront their nation’s troubled past with colonization and denying the Maori people rights, a name change for the island nation is being considered as a part of its own reckoning.

A petition that aims to change the Dutch anglicized name of New Zealand to its indigenous Maori designation of Aotearoa has collected more than 70,000 signatures, prompting a parliamentary committee to consider the idea.

New Zealand member of parliament Debbie Ngarewa-Packer , co-leader of The Maori Party, joined All Things Considered to elaborate on the significance of this potential name change, the journey to indigenous cultural reclamation, and their hopes for the movement’s success.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Interview highlights

On what the word Aotearoa means

It is indicative or prescriptive of the long white cloud of the island as it’s depicted often, and the weather that we have down at the end of the world.

But most importantly, it reflects indigenously who we are, and that we are, in fact, in the Pacific, that we are an island nation, and we’re not in any way connected to the origins of New Zealand.

On why it is important for the Maori Party to push for a formal name change

It’s really important that we dismantle some of the grips of colonization that have hindered our ability to reach our true potential. And one of the biggest things that’s reflected in some of the poorer states across the nation is the lack of self-identity, is the lack of actually understanding even who the tangata whenuaor Indigenous people, Maori of Aotearoa are.

This is about resetting the balance, and it’s something that hasn’t just come from the party. I’d love to take credit for it, but it’s actually something it’s been called on from some of our oldest ancestors post-colonization, to us today. Some of the youngest generations are standing up, calling for…