August 04, 2014
Tainui remembers war boycott
It’s the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, but many Maori are remembering something different from the official narrative.
About one in 10 Maori men served overseas between 1914 and 1918, but some tribes stayed away.
Hauraki Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta says Tainui leader Te Puea Hiranga was a notable opponent of her people going to war.
"She led the anti-conscription campaing, based on the prophecies or the undertakings of her tupuna Tawhiao who said that we wouldn't go to war in another country, that we would maintain our aspirations here in New Zealand, so that had a profound effect on the numbers of Waikato people who diod not sign up for World War One or World War Two," she says.
There will be a candlelit peace vigil at 6pm tonight in front of the Hamilton City Library organised by Hamilton Quakers in conjunction with the Maori Focus of the Alternatives to Violence Project.
Vigils are also being held at other towns and cities across New Zealand.
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