New Zealand or Aotearoa? The Māori Party’s Name Change Proposal

Oct 11

Oct 11 New Zealand or Aotearoa? The Māori Party’s Name Change Proposal

“People are already free to use Māori place names. What the Māori Party is saying is it would like to ban people calling our country New Zealand.” This was the reaction by right-wing ACT Party leader David Seymour the day after the Māori Party (Te Paati Māori) launched their campaign to change New Zealand’s name to Aotearoa on September 13th.

But what exactly did the Māori Party propose? In their petition, the Māori Party called for New Zealand* to change its official name to Aotearoa and to change all place names in the country to those of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) by 2026. While the changing of all place names can be seen as a dramatic undertaking, examining the implications of a change to the country’s name highlights its importance.

The name New Zealand was placed upon the collection of islands it comprised in the mid-17th century, first as the Latin Nova Zeelandia by Dutch cartographers, then later anglicised as New Zealand. Colonisation by the British in 1840 reinforced the name and furthered the detriment of both the indigenous population and their languages.

When asked about the name change in 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “New Zealanders do increasingly refer to Aotearoa, and I think that’s a transition that has been welcomed.” However, she went on to say that an official change was not on her current agenda.

The proposed name of Aotearoa, translating roughly to “long white cloud,” originally connoted to only the northern island, but has since been adopted more broadly. Aotearoa has been used colloquially and even in academic writings for many years, and often the name is presented in conjunction with New Zealand (i.e. Aotearoa New Zealand). The name Aotearoa even appears on New Zealand passports. More recently, following the launch of the Māori Party’s petition, companies such as Vodafone have replaced the name in their services. A cultural shift – slow, but steady – does appear to be occurring.

So here lies the issue as it currently stands: right-wing politicians in New Zealand see the move to be a form of extremism, some hold the middle ground of a more informal/mixed incorporation of the name (as it has been on passports), and the Māori Party demands the name’s legitimisation through an official, complete change.

The Māori Party does have precedent on their side. Various other countries have changed their name to one of their own languages after gaining independence from a colonial ruler. For example, Burkina Faso was named Upper Volta during its colonisation by the French and changed to its current denomination 24 years after it gained independence. As New Zealand qualifies as an independent Commonwealth realm (meaning, it is sovereign), a change to the state’s name could further loosen ties to the Crown and acknowledge colonial repression of indigenous culture.

In fact, this name change could take a radical approach to the way recognition of indigenous communities and reparations of their sovereignty occurs. In the view of the Māori party, this official change would be a step towards the restoration of the indigenous Māori language and culture within the country. The party points out that only “3% of people living in Aotearoa can speak te reo Māori'' and that “ancestral names [have been] mangled, bastardised, and ignored.” Integration of the Māori language into the everyday realities of New Zealanders will surely prompt the incorporation of other Māori cultural aspects into common practice.

Some may say that a complete change of name, entirely omitting New Zealand, is unnecessary, and a joint naming is more fitting given the demographics of the island. According to the 2018 Census, only 16.5% of New Zealand’s population identified as being of the Māori ethnicity. Yet, a drastic change is necessary for this exact reason. Past years saw even lower rates of this cultural affiliation: 14.9% in 2013 and 14.6% in 2018. When Māori language is given importance, and not obscured by names with a colonial legacy, a sense of pride and representation is reclaimed by those of Māori heritage. Of course, practical changes and initiatives to address the specific adversities the Māori face are integral, but restoration of the Māori language in the fabric of New Zealand will combat the erasure that often leads to the death of indigenous communities. A name change presents a key foothold in this work.

Realistically, the likelihood of this change occurring is quite low. The Māori Party itself only has two members in New Zealand’s Parliament of 120. The party of Prime Minister Ardern, the Labour Party, holds the majority in Parliament, but is likely to disagree with some of the terms of the petition or advocate for a less drastic approach.

Still, names hold weight. If the Māori culture is ever to thrive in its native land, steps must be taken to restore te reo Māori as commonplace. Aotearoa will be a symbolic commitment to this goal; the world will be reminded of the indigenous roots of the country and the Māori people will see themselves in their country’s namesake. Aotearoa may not be achieved soon, but work towards its establishment is vital to reparation.

*The use of the name New Zealand is present in this article, despite advocation for Aotearoa, for the sake of clarity in regard to the official status of the nation’s name.