to R Roimata Smail and Carole Beu
(Photo/Supplied)
An author talk on
Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Ponsonby’s Women’s Bookshop
sparked an extraordinary act of generosity—an anonymous
donor has offered to provide free copies of ‘Understanding Te Tiriti
– A Handbook of Basic Facts’ to every high school
across New Zealand.
A special presentation of the
first of the donated books will take place this Friday 29
November 10.30am-11.30am at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Raki
Paewhenua, 7 Ceres Court, Rosedale.
At the same time,
hundreds of books are being dispatched by a logistics centre
in Rangiora to all High Schools around Aotearoa.
“I
met the donors at my bookshop talk, where I gave a brief
20-minute presentation and signed copies. They went home,
read the book, and were struck by how easy to understand it
was. Inspired, they decided to help others discover it too,”
said Roimata Smail.
The busy barrister has spent two
decades specialising in cases about Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The now best-selling author self-publishes thanks to the
help of her whānau, and a small supportive team behind her
educational enterprise, Wai Ako
Books.
“The offer to put a book in every
High School was a complete surprise—a dream come true.
I’ve met so many wonderful people at talks and book
signings since launching in January, but this was different.
Out of nowhere, I got an email with an offer to help. It was
absolutely amazing,” she said.
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Owner of
the Ponsonby’s Women’s Bookshop, Carole Beu MNZM won’t
name the benefactors who she knows.
“But what I will
say is the timing of this book is crucial, because we have a
flourishing of everything Māori and Pakehā gaining new
understandings of Māori values and Māori language –
during a period when there is a government who is trying to
do the complete opposite.”
“It was delightful to
have Roimata in our bookshop. She was so gracious and gentle
and inclusive, unlike some of the people in power who are
doing the opposite,” Beu said.
“This book explains
Te Tiriti clearly and simply so many things that members of
the current government don’t seem to
understand.”
Roimata Smail’s vision of
strengthening and supporting this next generation with
Treaty knowledge is now on a fast track.
“It is my
hope now with this generous support, that all high school
students will get an opportunity to know what it took me 20
years to learn.”
“They’ll get access to the clear,
correct basic information before they leave High School,”
Roimata said.
“Looking back, I knew nothing before I
began working as a lawyer specialising in Te Tiriti. It
didn’t need to be that way, because what I have learned in
my career about Te Tiriti is not complicated.”
Local
Members of Parliament have been invited to the gifting
including Minister of Education Hon. Erica Stanford. Te Kura
Kaupapa Māori o te Raki Paewhenua is in her East Coast Bays
Electorate.
Earlier this year the Minister was
reported saying, “yes we have a lot to learn from kura
kaupapa.”
This post was originally published on here
