John Miller

Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1950
Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tāwake ki te Tuawhenua, Te Uri Taniwha, Te Whiu, Māori

2004 Foreshore and Seabed March, Cyril Chapman holding photograph of himself leading the 1975 Māori Land March in Wellington

  • 2004
  • Gelatin silver print
  • Purchased 2024
  • 540 x 608mm
  • 2024/107

In April 2004, a hīkoi left Te Tai Tokerau Northland in protest against proposed legislation to transfer ownership of the Aotearoa foreshore and seabed to the Crown. The hīkoi was joined by numerous supporters on the way south and arrived in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on 5 May 2004. The march was another example of the ongoing fight by Māori for tino rakatirataka over their whenua. Using the camera as a witness, Miller walks us backwards through history to our current moment, revealing iconic cultural shifts – and showing us how little has changed.

tino rakatirataka ~ self-determination, sovereignty, autonomy, self-government

whenua ~ land

Exhibition History