Although Waitangi Day is celebrated as a national holiday in New Zealand, marking the date, on February 6, 1840, on which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori tribes and the British Crown representatives, it is not for all a symbol of joy.
Nowadays the Maori who compose 6 percent of the population of New Zealand, still regard the signing of this agreement as an injustice towards their Maori ancestors.
At the time of the treaty, the British missionary who translated the Maori version of the document, recording the agreements between the Maori and the British, was not exactly fluent in the Maori language.
Therefore there appear to be many inconsistencies between what the two parties had actually agreed on.
Unfortunately past disputes have demonstrated that whenever there is a disagreement between the New Zealand government and the Maori, the former always refers to the British form of the treaty.
So, this commemoration date, which is considered by native New Zealanders as the origin of New Zealand, is by others considered an utter injustice, with the loss of lands that rightfully belong to the Maori people.
According to the Maori community, this is once again, another form of social prejudice towards the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
