Naming Sovereignty

What’s in a name? A notable quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it compels a reader to ponder the importance and value a name holds. In the case of dissuading star-crossed lovers, not much, but names historically embody and carry specific meanings, especially when considering their geographic location. New Zealand, for example, is a country whose name has increasingly become a topic of debate among its residents due to its history of colonization. The Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party) has organized a petition to officially change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa New Zealand and restore all original Māori place names by 2026.

Aotearoa, though its Māori etymological roots are unknown, has the common translation of “long bright world” or “long white cloud.” Its first use was documented in Sir George Grey’s 1855 Polynesian Mythology, and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race and numerous times again before regularly entering the colonial lexicon. 

New Zealand, a nation primarily composed of two large islands, is located to the southeast of Australia and abuts the Tasman Sea to the east. Separated by the Cook Strait and several smaller islets, these two halves are commonly referred to as the North and South Islands, with Te Ika-a-Māui (North) and Te Waipounamu (South) as official alternative names (as of 2013). There are also numerous islands which are scattered across the South Pacific Ocean, unified under the flag of New Zealand, which are self-governing and have increasing levels of autonomy, specifically Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands (which has had its own discussions regarding changing its colonial name).

The History

The explorer Abel Tasman was the first European explorer to make contact with the Māori people in 1642. Over 120 years passed before another encounter would take place, this time involving James Cook, a British explorer, naval officer and cartographer known for his various expeditions across the globe. As a cartographer, Cook worked on naming locations in New Zealand on maps for a European audience; he occasionally had input from the Māori population. However, Cook, and the Europeans who came after him, often discarded or entirely misunderstood traditional Māori naming practices. A single name for the entirety of New Zealand was not conventionally used until the arrival of colonial settlers who first named the island nation after the coastal province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. Tolaga Bay is another early example of a mistranslation. Cook asked Ūawa locals their name for the bay, but they thought they were being asked the name of the wind and responded with Tāraki, or north wind, which Cook wrote as Tolaga (mistranslations within mistranslations). 

Initially, trade nurtured a positive relationship between Māori and Europeans, which grew into sharing communities, workspaces and the introduction of English literacy. Christian missionaries in the early 1830s began petitioning the United Kingdom to make New Zealand a colony. London was hesitant at first as New Zealand had no central government, making formal agreements with the Māori more difficult. Over the next decade, British representatives worked toward creating a centralized government in New Zealand along with purchasing Māori land to create settlements for British migrants. 

The Treaty of Waitangi, often referred to as New Zealand’s founding document, was signed in 1840 and formalized New Zealand’s status as a British colony. Over 500 prominent Māori leaders endorsed the treaty; however, differing translations between the English and Māori versions ignited a series of conflicts. Hōne Heke, a Ngāpuhi chief and the first signatory to the treaty, felt the British betrayed the terms of the agreement and nonviolently expressed his dissatisfaction by cutting down a British flagpole, located in the settlement of Kororāreka. The flagpole was repaired, and subsequently cut down, a total of three times, igniting the Northern War between the United Kingdom and Māori across the North Islands.

In the years following the wars, opposing notions of sovereignty and land ownership between Māori and Europeans continued over the finite amount of usable land on New Zealand. When settlers began to feel their needs were being overlooked in favor of natives, a new constitution was established in 1852 to form a representative government of New Zealand. Its seats could only be filled by men who owned, leased or rented property of a certain value, which was in direct opposition to the Māori concept of ownership, as they held communal possession of land. As such, they were excluded from any representation in the new colonial government. Along with the spread of disease, this period resulted in the Māori population being almost halved by the 1880s.

Over the following decades, New Zealand settlers continued to expand into Māori land as it was often seen as “wasted space” by colonists. British Protectorates over various islands in the South Pacific Ocean were established as well, to include Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands (named after James Cook). By the time New Zealand gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, its borders encompassed New Zealand itself, Niue, Tokelau, the Cook Islands and the Ross Dependency.

Fun fact: The Ross Dependency is a wedge of the Antarctic which New Zealand has claimed since 1923. The area is primarily used to conduct research and for fishing. Learn more about this in our blog, Antarctica: Home to Ice, Penguins, and Boundary Disputes.

After Independence

Since independence, New Zealand has slowly worked to repair its relationship with indigenous residents in an attempt to reinforce positive relations across the South Pacific region. As a result, the current legal status of Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands deviates from the standard post colonial model.

The Cook Islands were first inhabited by Polynesians who arrived at Rarotonga, the largest island, by canoe around 900 C.E. Additional islands, such as Manihiki, Rakahanga, Pukapuka and Penrhyn, would also become settlements for Tongans and Samoans, with each island acting as its own political entity. 

James Cook sighted the islands in 1773 and named the entire region the Hervey Islands, later renamed the Cook Islands in 1835. The territory became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1901 and remained a dependent territory of New Zealand until it was granted internal self-governance as a state in free association in 1965. This meant that although New Zealand would continue to maintain responsibility for the foreign defense of Cook Islands, it would be self-managed in all domestic affairs. 

Made a colony in 1901, Niue, often referred to as “Savage Island” by Europeans, operates on a similar governmental system as the Cook Islands. This means that although the people of Cook Islands and Niue are still considered citizens under the jurisdiction of New Zealand, they are able to operate their own domestic affairs and have been granted the authority to autonomously enter into bilateral treaties.

As the Cook Islands were not considered a unified government prior to colonization, there is no Polynesian name. In recent years, locals have begun to call for a change to the island name to better reflect the nature of the people. The name ‘Avaiki Nui’ was proposed in 1994 but met with widespread resistance. Some modern day Cook Islanders utilize Avaiki Nui, and others the literal Māori translation, Kūki ‘Āirani. However, alternatives to the colonial name Cook Islands remains widely up for debate.

Tokelau, another previous colony associated with New Zealand, comprises three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean known as Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo. Tokelau is an interesting case as New Zealand has never maintained a permanent presence on Tokelau; instead it delegates authority to the Council of Elders, or Taupulega, who are granted power over all administrative and legislative duties. Therefore, Tokelauans have received little foreign influence in their daily lives, and the islands operate under their own political, legal, social, judicial and economic systems. While they are under the authority of the Administrator of Tokelau, a position appointed by New Zealand’s minister of foreign affairs, the current government is largely self-sustaining and able to enter bilateral agreements on its own accord.

Between 2006 and 2007, two referendums were held to determine if Tokelau would become a state in free association, similar to the Cook Islands and Niue. Both votes failed to reach the minimum majority necessary so Tokelau remained a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand. Due to a decolonization program instituted by the United Nations, the question of Tokelau’s right to self-determination was raised again in 2022. Discussions are now underway to determine if a referendum will be held in 2026 to vote on Tokelau’s independence from New Zealand, who is in support of Tokelau’s ongoing efforts.

Since Tokelau and the States in free association with New Zealand can operate independently on an international level, they have entered into maritime boundary agreements with each other, despite technically being part of New Zealand. Tokelau and the Cook Islands determined their maritime boundary in 2010, while Niue and the Cook Islands determined theirs in 2012.

What comes next?

New Zealand’s relationship with the Māori people is still developing, and though it seems positive overall, a 2024 bill was introduced which would alter the original terms of the Treaty of Waitangi. Introduced by Act, a right-wing political party, leaders in the party have stated they want equal rights for all citizens and having provisions in place for people based on their ethnicities is “divisive for New Zealand society.” Citizens quickly voiced their opposition to the bill along with Māori representatives who protested by performing the haka in parliament. Objections to the bill are widespread and it is unlikely to progress further. 

While it is still uncertain if New Zealand will add Aotearoa to its official name, many have already taken it on as part of their personal and national identities. The name has even appeared on New Zealand’s national currency. While alternative names are also up for debate, the support behind renaming New Zealand stems from Māori ideology, which believes that a name is intrinsic to where and how you were born. In renaming the places they colonized, European settlers stripped indigenous people of their connections to the land, weakened their sovereignty and enforced a rule of law that was diametrically opposed to the Māori way of life. In using the name Aotearoa, Māori are reclaiming their sovereignty and their culture. New Zealand is also demonstrating a unique governing system that actively works to unify its people and uplift those who were previously oppressed.