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Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says the country would benefit from a day to remember those who died in the New Zealand Wars.
Ministers attending the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Te Tarata Pa in Opotiki on the weekend were challenged about the lack of any official commemoration of the Maori who died defending their home soil.
Mr Flavell says as someone who grew up unaware of the battle grounds under his feet, he can now appreciate the need to understand the history we walk through daily.
"You know there’s a cemetery smack dead in the middle of Tauranga that most people wouldn't even know about. It's got young soldiers as well young toa, our own chiefs that are laid to rest right beside the motorway. Everyday thousands of people drive past it and wouldn't know. We've got to do that, we've got to open the door up and let our young people hear those stories, see the places that it actually happened to get a better appreciation about our country as we move forward," he says.
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