NZ FN
I have a vague intent of looking into how NZ has improved European-FN relations, but my vague impression that they were farther along that road and CA (or AU) is anecdotally confirmed:
1. FN translations, including but not only place names, are much more common and often appear before the English version. That said, products in grocery stores are unilingual English.
2. People casually say "Kia Ora", which I guess is Maori for "G'Day", in a way that suggests they're not just doing it for tourist performance.
3. According to our excellent guide, NZ has 40 FN's, 38 of which have concluded reparations with the NZ government; he implied that they usually consist of cash payments, in CHC's case $700 million, as well as, at least in some cases, things like free uni. I'm curious to what extent self-government, judicial lenience and the concept of "their own nation" is included; also, how they participate in government.
4. This is ultra-anecdotal but there seem to be more "Maori looking people" around CHC than we would see in Vancouver. I will look for data ;)
You may know that a year or so ago AU had a referendum proposing a guaranteed % of parliament seats to FNs. That may not be quite right but I think that was the gist of it. It was resoundly defeated. I don't know enough details to say if that was a good idea or not.
Comments
Post a Comment