Sharing lessons: An American perspective of indigenous governance

On a muggy February afternoon earlier this year, I visited the Rangiriri Battlefield with colleagues from the Maori and Indigenous Governance Centre - Te Mata Hautu Taketake. Located just off the Waikato Expressway north of the Rangiriri village, the site is situated adjacent to a non-descript, country lane amid lush fields of green. Where warriors once clashed, only a bird stands sentry. The sounds of battle replaced by the whirl of a gentle breeze.

The intersection of past and present at Rangiriri typifies the experience of many Indigenous Peoples around the world. Displacement, land expropriation, and the extinguishment of aboriginal rights were once the pro forma policies of colonial Governments. Today, Indigenous Peoples are left to rebuild tribal institutions that were destroyed and to incorporate traditional principles of good governance into newly reconstituted governing entities ... READ MORE

Dr. Torivio A. Fodder, Post-Doctoral Fellow, M?ori and Indigenous Governance Centre, Te Piringa - Faculty of Law -
University of Waikato - Released by NZLawyer - 3 May 2013