WTO Public Forum 2022: An Indigenous Perspective

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be dropping my key messages and speaking notes presented at the WTO Public Forum 2022 as part of OpinioNative’s #TradeNotes series.

The first entry is part one of the panel questions put to OpinioNative during the World Economic Forum, National Congress of American Indians and National Centre for American Indian Enterprise Development hosted panel on Indigenous Inclusion in Trade.

SPEAKING NOTES

Pātai 1: Why is international trade important to Māori Development?

In answering this question, I briefly addressed three key points:

1.     Historical context

2.     Innovation and Employment

3.     Politics and Security

Historical context

Trade underpins the constitutional foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 1835, Independent Māori Chiefs signed He Whakaputanga, essentially the first trade agreement of our nation. It was peace directed and intended to quell unrest and unfair trade practices and the resulting tensions due to increasing settler arrivals in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was later reaffirmed in its entirety in Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

Māori have a longstanding history of intertribal trade within Aotearoa as well as pre-contact and early contact trade with peoples across the Pacific, Asia, South and North America, Australia, the U.S, UK and as far as Europe. Māori trading posts provided food and other goods to settlers arriving on our shores.

Trade enabled our ancestors to access new technologies and models that improved our economic performance and enabled more efficient and effective processes to provide for our whanau, hapū and iwi.

Māori also held a presence at the very first Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London. It’s known today as the World Expo. That exhibition included specimens of flax, raw materials, and Māori crafts. As well as a model a Māori war pā (fortress). In 2021, Māori also made an indelible mark at Expo 2020 Dubai, bringing together partners from seven pavilions to showcase Indigenous talent, expertise, and knowledge on the world stage in an event called Te Aratini. It was accepted by the Bureau International des Expositions as an official Expo offering at all future expo events.

Innovation & Employment

Māori disproportionately occupy roles at risk of automation. Māori entities involved in trade acceleration and economic development are all exploring how we can reshape the future for our current workforce and enterprises for the benefit of our mokopuna – our grandchildren and descendants.

When we build exporting businesses that we can grow and scale, we create new and higher value jobs that will improve the social, economic and cultural uplift of our people.

We also engage in deeper innovation – and Hone’s whanau company Wakatu are a great example of that indigenised innovation led future proofing.

Politics & Security

Trade is underpinned by three key elements: People, Resources and Relationships.

People want or need resources to survive and flourish. To sustain those resources and their continued supply, people need to understand their relationship with the planet and her boundaries. To access those resources, people need strong and enduring relationships with the people who are caretakers of those resources and producers of the goods and services that rely on those resources.

In a world where supply and demand matter, and where the climate crisis threatens our continued and free access to water, food and energy – the three essentials of human flourishing - transactional relationships won’t cut it. Transactional relationships are at greater risk of destabilisation because they lack the personal and cultural connections that can help protect against economic tensions and trade wars.

Indigenous peoples are most likely to be disproportionately impacted in times of scarcity and insecurity. To secure our place in the futures trade stories, we value the importance of establishing strong and enduring relationships built on high trust through commitments to a shared vision – a vision that serves humans and the planet.

Relationships that are centred on reciprocity so that all people can equitably and regeneratively share in the planet’s resources.

As ancient stewards of the natural environment and as living collective cultures, we have generations of knowledge and know how that can inform the WTO’s pivot to sustainable trade practices and inclusivity.

Why should we have a voice?

A sustainable and inclusive trade agenda cannot exclude the rights, interests, and ability of Indigenous Peoples to participate.