23/04/2025
Māori were already legally British subjects under the Treaty of Waitangi (1840), which guaranteed them the rights and privileges of British citizenship. However, by the time of World War I and especially World War II, the practical reality was very different — Māori still faced systemic racism, political marginalisation, land confiscations, and were treated as second-class citizens in their own land.
The decision for many Māori to fight in World War II — especially in the 28th Māori Battalion — wasn’t necessarily because they had to in order to gain citizenship, but rather it became a powerful and painful statement. Leaders like Sir Āpirana Ngata encouraged Māori to enlist, believing that active participation in the war effort would force the government and wider society to acknowledge Māori mana, loyalty, and their rightful place in the nation.
Ngata famously said:
"We have taken up the cause of the King and the Empire in this war... we go forward not for the love of fighting, but that our race might stand up and be counted."
So while Māori were technically citizens already, fighting in the war became a way to assert that citizenship and push for full recognition and equality — a fight that continued well after the war, through protest, advocacy, and legal challenges.
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