New translation for Treaty
A new School Journal comic book is taking a fresh approach to teaching Kiwi kids about the Treaty of Waitangi.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi - written by Ross Calman and Mark Derby, and illustrated by Toby Morris – is now in all New Zealand schools with year 7 and 8 pupils.
It reforms the current syllabus with simpler language and illustrations aimed at helping 10and 12-year-olds with a year 6 reading level.
The book covers a wide time span, from the arrival of Polynesian explorers to the signing of Te Tiriti, to the New Zealand Wars, and through to the modernday Treaty settlement process.
Illustrator Morris opens the book by revealing, as a kid, he thought the Treaty was an ‘‘excuse for a day off school – a day for beach cricket or water bomb battles’’.
‘‘[Writing the book] made me realise my own knowledge of our history is pretty basic, which was really interesting, so it was a great experience,’’ he said.
‘‘When you get a brief like that you know there is going to be a lot of research involved and it can be quite daunting. I usually have to work quickly on many different jobs and have had to get good at working through them quickly, but with this I really wanted to make sure I was thorough and depicting it in a way that felt right for the topic.’’
A special emphasis has been put on unpacking the two versions of Te Tiriti and exploring their ongoing significance, Morris said.
‘‘The part I didn’t get taught as a kid was the years in between then and now, and how not honouring the Treaty impacted on Ma¯ ori. It’s so complicated but when you boil it down, like the authors did a great job of doing, you can see where we have got to as a country. I feel blessed and honoured to have the opportunity and to work with an incredible team.’’
An important member of that team was Isaac Snoswell, an editor at Lift Education. ‘‘We have worked with Toby on a number of books,’’ Snoswell said. ‘‘His illustrations are bright and engaging, and treat subjects with sensitivity and respect.
‘‘He did a really great job on this one.’’
The book was two years in the making, and Snoswell said the fantastic experts helping the team made it an enjoyable experience.
‘‘We were really lucky working on this book because the He Tohu exhibition was on at the National Library, which meant we could lean on an amazing group of Ma¯ori and Pakeha advisers for help.’’
The advisers were Professor Peter Adds of Victoria University’s school of Ma¯ori studies; Hinerangi Himiona, principal advisor for He Tohu; and historians Dame Claudia Orange and Jock Phillips.
The New Zealand School Journal has been running for 110 years, and has had a significant influence on the educational history of this country.
Each journal is published in separate parts for different age groups: 7-8 years, 8-9 years, 9-11 years and 11-14 years. From the 1960s on, Kiwi-based content grew more real and informative. The School Journal is now published by the Ministry of Education’s Lift Education arm, along with the twice-yearly Junior Journal, in both print and digital form.
Morris is honoured that his work will be remembered by schoolchildren around New Zealand. ‘‘That’s really cool,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s humbling and when I was a kid I loved School Journal and got so much out of it.’’
Illustrating can be a lonely job at times, he said. ‘‘But when you get a chance to work on projects like this – it’s all worthwhile.’’
The book is only available in schools and can’t be purchased, but a pdf copy can be downloaded online.