Moana Jackson

Tributes are pouring in for the leading Māori legal scholar Moana Jackson, who died on Thursday after a lengthy illness.

"Incredible tolerance and patience in the face of some quite extraordinary provocations," she said. But when those words did come, they were astute and profound. Today, Jackson is being remembered as a stirring orator, powerful writer and tireless advocate. "Even though everyone talks about the gentle giant, of which he is, he has not wavered from his commitment for us to exist in the dreams of our tīpuna and reflected in the faces and lives of our mokopuna." "He was one of the foundations on the issue of us getting proper advice as to how to go about pushing for self-determination for Bougainville," he said. He helped draft the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and was on indigenous tribunals in the US and Canada.

He loved his people and his people loved him. Aotearoa has lost a giant today, and we are the poorer for it.”

You can make a contribution from as little as $1. Be part of our story and help us tell yours. Aotearoa has lost a giant today, and we are the poorer for it.” “Moana was the most gifted Māori intellectual I ever had the pleasure of knowing. E manawanui ana a Puna ki te whakakanohi i te ao Māori i roto i ā mātou rongo kōrero, kia noho hoki hei hoa tata ki te tangata whenua. Author Malcolm Mulholland, also of Ngāti Kahungunu, said Jackson had been a mentor and friend. I'm in my emails now going back over the years, long before I was an MP, I ended up in many situations coming under attack.

His early advocacy began more than 30 years ago and centred on Māori and the criminal justice system. He was the lead researcher and author of the ...

He graduated in law and criminology at Victoria University in Wellington, and eventually went on to teach the law. "Moana Jackson was well known domestically and internationally for expertise in indigenous issues. Dr Jackson's work on Māori and Indigenous rights has been an inspiration to many at home and abroad, using his knowledge and experience to help Māori and Pākehā understand the impacts of colonisation in Aotearoa.

Moana Jackson had a profound impact on thousands of lives. Just a few of them share their thoughts on the esteemed lawyer and teacher who passed today.

In addition to his intellect, one of the things I will remember most about Moana is the pin-drop silence that occurred whenever he opened his mouth. But in his writings, in his speeches and wānanga, again and again he showed that kindness is not incompatible with strength. I was one of those who were privileged to be the beneficiary of his thought-leadership, his kind mentorship and his uncanny ability to wedge his way into one’s conscience and sit there as a permanent and critical reminder of “the kaupapa”. The real magic of Moana Jackson was his ability to say profoundly radical and transformative things in such a calm and measured manner that they seemed logical and simple – plans for power sharing, constitutional transformation, decolonisation and prison abolition. And such an engaging presenter – you would need to lean in and focus to make sure you caught those quietly spoken words, all linked together with the stories of his mokopuna, and the challenge for us all to strive for a more just society. Moana’s intellectual contribution goes without saying – He Whaipaanga Hou and the report of Matike Mai Aotearoa, to name just a couple of examples, are both ground-breaking and continue to drive and shape our discussions of justice systems and constitutional transformation. I want to rise to the occasion for Matua Moana, especially for his love of words, his love of stories and his love of people. He demonstrated how strength comes, not from being the loudest voice in the room, but by always acting in ways that are tika, and according to principle. The legacy of our ancestors, and the legacy of Moana Jackson, is joy and perseverance. His dream for Aotearoa is encapsulated in his report on the work of Matike Mai Aotearoa on constitutional transformation: We launched PAPA’s book in 2016 and this eminent rangatira strode right up to us to tell us how proud he was of the work we were doing. And he did it while keeping his mokopuna as the centrepoint of all of his kōrero. The link between generations and our hope for the many to come, was a constant koha to us all.

Ngāti Kahungunu and Hawke's Bay are preparing for the last welcome home for internationally-famed indigenous rights lawyer Moana Jackson who has died at ...

He was also vocal towards the October 2007 police "terror" raids, and resigned as patron of the Police Recruit Wing 244 due to his opposition to the conduct of the raids, which he said stemmed from racism. He was a judge on the International Tribunal of Indigenous Rights in Hawaii in 1993, and again in Canada in 1995. He contributed a lot of his training and work towards international indigenous issues, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Rawinia Higgins pays tribute to Moana Jackson, "one of the most influential minds shaping indigenous rights, both in this country and internationally"

Jackson was widely considered one of the most influential minds shaping indigenous rights, both in this country and internationally. He was also counsel for the Bougainville Interim Government during the Bougainville peace process. Jackson was a strong campaigner against injustice and inequities. Reader donations are critical to what we do. Jackson worked extensively on international indigenous issues around the world. He became an international jurist, serving as a judge on the International Tribunal of Indigenous Rights in Hawaii in 1993 and in Canada in 1995.

Moana Jackson, one of the country's leading legal minds and indigenous scholars, has died after a lengthy illness.

He had such a soft voice, but he never took a back step x— Morgan Godfery (@MorganGodfery) March 30, 2022 In 1988, he was the author of the ground-breaking report for the Justice Department, Māori in the Criminal Justice System, which is still widely referenced today. He co-founded the Māori Legal Service in the 1980s, becoming a tireless advocate for criminal justice reform and the dismantling of racist structures in the justice system.

Lawyer and criminal justice reform leader Julia Whaipooti on what revered Māori intellectual Moana Jackson, who passed away this week, meant to her.

Part of that is a relationship and obligation to many of our whānau overseas: that we have gifts to share, we have things to lead and we have things to learn. There is a moment to pause and mourn for him and his whānau, and we’ve got to share in that loss. It’s not just documents, it’s not just papers, it is a way of being and a right to be Māori. It’s about being unapologetically loving and accepting that we should exist. I mean, no one can be like him, but I am so unapologetically loving of our people and I expect that at the tables I sit at or the things that I push for. He’s a very gentle giant in how he communicates but his words are so potent and so strong. He was one of the founding people around the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I went to the UN a few years ago, as a young buck. But he fronted that and that’s something I carry with me because I know when I was born that came out. Because the thing that drives him – that’s his greatest gift to me and I think many of us – is his love for our people. Or will you be a lawyer who happens to be a Māori?” And at the time I was like, that’s the same question, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised it’s not the same question. I remember having a tangi in front of him and being like, “Why has no one done anything about this?” He was very cool and generous. It would have been over 10 years ago when I was at law school and he would alway pose the question for us as Māori first year students: “Will you be a Māori who happens to be a lawyer? My first thought is to his whānau. In his generosity to all of us, he has been all of ours in te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā. He has been our uncle, our rangatira who was so inspirational.

His work on Māori and Indigenous rights has been an inspiration to many, using his knowledge and experience to help Māori and Pākehā understand the impacts ...

He graduated in law and criminology at Victoria University in Wellington, and eventually went on to teach the law. "Moana Jackson was well known domestically and internationally for expertise in indigenous issues. Dr Jackson's work on Māori and Indigenous rights has been an inspiration to many at home and abroad, using his knowledge and experience to help Māori and Pākehā understand the impacts of colonisation in Aotearoa.