Who are we?

Te Tiriti Is Us

Te Tiriti is Us is a not-for-profit project encouraging all New Zealanders to consider Te Tiriti and the partnership it created as a crucial part of our history, our democracy, and our identity.

We're not aligned to any political party, but we do object to the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill, and we note that the National Party’s values statement recognises the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) as the founding document of New Zealand.
We are New Zealanders who are committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Meet the people

Barbara Blake

Barbara was born and raised on a beef farm in the Horowhenua, and now lives in Pōneke, Wellington.
She trained as a librarian and English language teacher, and she works on community projects with NGOs in the Wellington area.
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Barbara says: "I am a Pākehā who married a Māori man, and we had a beautiful daughter together, and an amazing stepdaughter. My whanau opened my eyes to the richness and depth of Māori culture. However, I also witnessed struggles faced by tangata whenua. I felt the need to stand up and counter the negative and divisive talk that's around at the moment by doing something positive in support of Te Tiriti o Waitangi."

Rob Smith

Growing up on the West Coast (Te Tai o Poutini) of Aotearoa, on the shores of Lake Brunner (Kōtukuwhakaoka), Rob was surrounded by mountains, rich forests and rivers, which inspired his passion for conservation and culture.

Rob worked in conservation and as an ecologist in Australia for over 30 years, where he was always proud to explain that Aotearoa New Zealand was founded on a treaty.

After returning to Aotearoa New Zealand to be close to family, Rob joined Te Tiriti Is Us to encourage respectful discussion to protect the promises made in the 1840 treaty.
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"Te Tiriti created the ethical partnership that has blossomed into the rich, unique culture that is our country today," says Rob.

Our artwork

We commissioned artwork by Nelson ceramacist and printmaker, Amber Smith. Amber uses her art as an exploration of her wairua (spirit) and what it means to come from Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Our logo, a pair of stylised tui flying in unison underscores our campaign celebrating the two partners of Te Tiriti working together.

See more of Amber's Arwork

What we're doing

We encourage people to have respectful conversations and discussions about how Te Tiriti is the foundation of the peaceful and equitable way we live here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our first poster campaign started in Pōneke Wellington and expanded to Ōtautahi Christchurch. With artwork from Amber Smith, our campaign is designed to appeal to people’s best self, and highlights the positive and shared values of unity, partnership, keeping our promises, love, sharing and fairness.

Take action by writing to your MP or the PM encouraging them to vote NO to the bill and prevent this divisive bill from progressing any further!