Story: Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi

Treaty protest posters: ‘The treaty is a fraud’ (1st of 2)

Treaty protest posters: ‘The treaty is a fraud’

This poster from the late 1970s expresses the frustration and impatience of the Māori land-rights movement in that period. The Waitangi Tribunal had been formed in 1975 to investigate Māori claims against the Crown, but in the first years after its formation it was unable to address long-standing Māori grievances. Many younger radicals argued that te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) was a fraudulent document and that Māori had never surrendered their sovereignty to the Crown.

Using this item

Waikato Museum - Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Reference: 1987/16/17

Permission of Waikato Museum – Te Whare Taonga o Waikato must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Claudia Orange, 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi - Honouring te tiriti – 1940 to 2000s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/36376/treaty-protest-posters-the-treaty-is-a-fraud (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Claudia Orange, published 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 28 Mar 2023 with assistance from Claudia Orange