Richard Dawson, a scholar from New Zealand, will talk about modern issues of treaty and constitutional interpretation with a particular focus on the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840, between the British Crown and Maori chiefs on Monday, November 3 from 4:00 to 5:30pm in Hutchins Hall Room 236 .
The Treaty of Waitangi made various promises to the Maori, especially concerning the possession of land and fishing rights, which the New Zealand government, once it was established, systematically dishonored. In the past thirty years, the Treaty of Waitangi has gained in importance. The central question is what weight, and interpretation, should now be given the the Treaty–by the courts, by the legislature, by the people. This deeply contested issue in New Zealand has tremendous relevance for those concerned with aboriginal rights in the US, Canada, and elsewhere in the world, or with the question how a “constitution” can and should be defined.
Dawson, who has a Phd both in Economics and in Law, presents a fresh look at the much-debated question of how to interpret treaties between indigenous peoples and settler states. His book, “The Treaty of Waitangi and the Control of Language,” has been praised as the most important since Claudia Orange published her seminal study, “The Treaty of Waitangi” in 1987.
Dawson is also the author of “Justice as Attunement: Transforming Constitutions in Law, Literature, Economics, and the Rest of Life,” published in 2014 by Routledge. He is currently International Research Fellow at Mercer Law School in Macon, Georgia.
Turtle Talk 