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🎬 MCP Enhanced Video Analysis: The Bastion Point Occupation

507 Days on the Land - Cross-Curricular Investigation

📚 Integrated Learning Focus

Historical Analysis: Land rights, protest strategies, government response

Cultural Understanding: Tikanga, whakapapa, connection to whenua

Media Literacy: Documentary techniques, perspective, bias

Civic Engagement: Rights, responsibilities, effective protest

📹 Video Learning: Voices from Bastion Point

📋 Before You Watch

  • Locate Takaparawhā (Bastion Point) on the class map and identify the rohe of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
  • Review the timeline of land confiscations and housing pressures in Tāmaki Makaurau during the 1970s.
  • Discuss why mana whenua might describe the occupation as an expression of mana motuhake.

Source: 1News | Interview with Hone Harawira reflecting on the 507-day occupation.

🤔 Pātai While Watching

  1. He aha te mana o te whenua ki a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei i roto i tēnei kōrero?
    What does the whenua mean for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, according to the speaker?
  2. What strategies and tikanga helped occupiers sustain 507 days of resistance?
  3. How does Hone Harawira describe the outcomes of the occupation, and why does he say “we were right”?

💭 After Watching

Think-Pair-Share: Describe one moment from the interview that shows resilience or aroha. Connect it to present-day movements for land or housing justice.

Action Option: Draft a short mihi or letter acknowledging the kaitiaki of Takaparawhā and outlining what rangatahi can learn from their stand.

🔗 Supplementary Perspectives

Extend learning with additional voices. Allocate groups to investigate one source and report back with key insights.

  • RNZ Archive: Joe Hawke interviews on the return of Bastion Point.
  • Māori Television: Documentaries featuring kuia and kaumātua recounting Takaparawhā.
  • Witness History (BBC): International coverage highlighting global civil rights links.
  • Government Records: Cabinet papers or police reports giving Crown perspectives (critically analysed).

Critical Thinking Questions

1. The occupation lasted 507 days. What does this teach us about determination, collective leadership, and whanaungatanga?

2. The Crown used a large police force to evict occupiers. What message did that send to Māori communities, and how do you think the public responded?

3. Many activists say they “lost the battle but won the war.” Identify two long-term changes that support this statement, using evidence from the video and supplementary sources.