New educational resource for unlocking decolonial imaginations

We are currently living in times marked by intense cultural wars, divisive political rhetoric, and a profound lack of empathy from those who manipulate fear and misinformation to maintain the colonial status quo. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the structural and institutional racism embedded within the machinery of government. Yet, as our Movement leaders remind us, we also live in times of bountiful, steadfast resistance. 

To help navigate these turbulent spaces and build our collective capability, HC & A is proud to introduce a new educational resource "Honourable Kāwanatanga Provocations". The resource consists of 43 double sided postcards to start conversations about aspects of honourable kāwanatanga. One side has a provocation the other side some prompts and resources to inform the conversation.

This resource is a direct response to the immense wisdom, structural analysis, and lived experiences of twenty respected Māori and Tauiwi movement leaders. These leaders were interviewed as part of a Royal Society Te Apārangi Marsden research study explicitly exploring what it means to practice honourable kāwanatanga. The resulting provocation cards are designed as a practical tool to help individuals and organisations unlock their decolonial imaginations, move past superficial gestures, and inspire the courageous conversations required for genuine, Tiriti-based constitutional change. As the visionary legal scholar Dr Moana Jackson beautifully reminded us, Te Tiriti has never been about mere rights—it is about the profound rightness that comes from people accepting their obligation to each other. 

By design, the provocations intentionally push us to look closely at the uncomfortable truths of our history and our present. They challenge us to unpack the ongoing realities of settler colonialism—a system explicitly set up to displace Indigenous populations and replace their governance structures with Western frameworks of individual debt-traps, court costs, and direct land confiscation. With a consistent 186-year trail of broken promises by the Crown, we cannot afford to keep tinkering with a broken system. Importantly, this resource serves as a vital mirror for tangata Tiriti to get our own house in order. It explicitly prompts us to confront dynamics like White defensiveness and Pākehā paralysis, which describe the hesitation or inaction by non-Māori who fear causing offence or getting things wrong. If we are to ever be good manuhiri on this whenua, we must dismantle the tyranny of Pākehā individualism, learn from our historical mistakes, and actively work to be the Pākehā that the rangatira originally thought they were negotiating with. We need to ensure that our antiracism practice is an active, embodied engagement—a continuous labour of social transformation. 

Beyond critiquing systemic failures, the resource provides an aspirational space to dream, inviting us to engage deeply with the landmark Matike Mai Aotearoa report. It prompts us to consider what Aotearoa might look like if we structurally resourced and respected local hapū sovereignty, embraced radical love as an active political force for collective liberation, and reoriented our geopolitical priorities away from the Global North to collaborate with our global majority neighbours in the Global South. Ultimately, the provocations ask us to step away from bureaucratic frameworks that prioritise profit and commit instead to making mokopuna decisions. These are intergenerational choices focused entirely on the long-term sustainable well-being, environmental guardianship, and cultural integrity of our grandchildren and those who come after them, ensuring the inherent mana of future generations is fully protected. 

Bringing this resource into your classroom, community space, or staff workshop is a straightforward way to spark genuine, relational dialogue. Simply scatter the cards across a table and invite participants to choose a few that resonate with or challenge them. Have them split into small groups for a courageous kōrero about what drew them to those choices and whether they agree or disagree. Follow-up with a collective debrief to unpack the critical implications for daily practice and wider institutional frameworks.

True transformation requires us to listen deeply and talk with rather than about Indigenous communities, moving past talking past each other. We want to extend our gratitude to the movement elders who shared their time and ancestral wisdom to make this project possible. Let us cultivate the imagination to dream of how far we are prepared to go, unplug from systems that fail us, and commit to a future that honours the collective. Toitū te Tiriti.

Order a copy of the Honourable kāwanatanga provocation education resource here. Consider registering for a free meandering reflective conversation about the provocations on 8th September presented by Heather Came & Grant Berghan.