The invasion of Captain James Cook and his claiming of Aotearoa began the British colonisation of the sovereign Māori nations of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
2019 was the 250-year anniversary of Cook’s invasion. In celebration, the New Zealand Government set up a group, Tuia 250, in the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and funded it with over $20 million to re-enact Cook’s circumnavigation of Aotearoa using a replica of the ship Endeavour.
Many Māori are distressed and angered by this celebration and memorialising of Captain James Cook. I am one of them.
Robyn Kahukiwa, Te Aitanga a Hauiti
