Te Tiriti o Waitangi Community Training (by Tangata Tiriti – Treaty People)
On Wednesday 17 June, HEART hosted a community training on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as part of our Learning Spaces Calendar. It was delivered by Tangata Tiriti – Treaty People at Tāmaki Community Development Trust. We were lucky to have Mikesh Patel and Mitchell Denham facilitating - two facilitators who brought both a depth of knowledge and lived experience to the kōrero.
The session gave our community a space to sit with the true history of Aotearoa, unpack He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and understand what it really means to honour the Treaty relationship today. It was a heavy topic handled gently, with Mikesh and Mitchell creating room for nuance, questions, and honest conversation.
What people took from it
Participants told us the training gave them real clarity on the content of Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga, and a deeper understanding of the rangatira involved. Others spoke about the value of hearing facilitators who were knowledgeable "in training but also lived experience," and appreciated the care taken to talk about Māori resistance and the true history of this country in a way that was nuanced rather than one-sided.
For many, the biggest impact was simply understanding the impact of Te Tiriti not being honoured, and coming away with tools and information to keep asking questions.
In their own words
"Loved how this workshop was run in partnership - Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti! Mauri ora!"
"Understanding the impact of Te Tiriti not being honoured, and giving me tools and information to inquire."
"Our facilitators were passionate and it showed through their teachings and kōrero."
When we asked what next steps people would take as a result of the workshop, the answers spoke to exactly what this kind of training is for - not just information, but action. People told us they planned to do further courses, read more and share what they'd learned, tell other social services about the training, and continue to build their own connection to Te Tiriti as tauiwi.
Why this matters for HEART
Understanding Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational to the way HEART works in Tāmaki. Healthy relationships - between people, between organisations, and between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti - all rest on the same principles of partnership, honesty, and mutual respect that Te Tiriti was built on. Trainings like this one help our Change Agents and community partners carry that understanding into everything else we do.
Ngā mihi nui to Mikesh and Mitchell for facilitating with such generosity, and to Tāmaki Community Development Trust for hosting us. And thank you to everyone who came along, asked questions, and sat with the kōrero - your willingness to learn and grow is exactly what keeps this kaupapa alive.
