December 18, 2023
Te Papa protester unrepentant
One of the 12 activists charged for last week’s attack on a Treaty of Waitangi display at Te Papa says she has no regrets.
Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn from Ngāti Kuri and Te Rarawa was set to appear in court in Wellington today on a charge of intentional damage, but her case has been moved to Whangarei at a later date.
She says the group – Te Waka Hourua – has repeatedly demanded the museum take down the English text in the display because only the te reo version is correct, and it staged a 181-minute sit-in at the museum in 2021.
The acted because Te Papa refused to do anything.
“There is only one actual internationally legally-binding instrument – it is called Te Tiriti o Waitangi – period, end of story,” Ms Murupaenga-Ikenn says.
While the protest wasn’t wasn’t a pushback against the coalition Government, Te Waka Hourua is concerned about many of its policies.