“One of the core principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is protection and partnership. This tiki artform represents the ambitions of our tipuna, and honours the aspirations of both Māori and the wider community for protection of land, community and partnership.” says Hori-Te-Ariki Mataki (Ae, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kauwhata, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui me Te Āti Haunui a Pāpārangi) of the artwork he has designed for today’s local Google Doodle. 

Shared today for all in Aotearoa to see on New Zealand’s Google homepage, this Doodle celebrates the ambitions of two cultures and their shared desire to protect and provide for their people. Taking its likeness from pounamu, a taonga in Māori culture, the colours represent the physical - land, sea and air - taonga of tangata whenua. “The outstretched arms of the tiki represent the integration of cultures and future innovation to protect these natural domains of our environment, the flora and fauna, for all generations to come.”Hori explained.

Aotearoa New Zealand today recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi which was signed on 6 February 1840. Kiwi’s search interest in Te Tiriti o Waitangi has tripled over the past 12 months in New Zealand showing a growing desire to lear more. Searches for the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi reached a ten-year high in May last year. 

Of his work, Hori shared that the use of “language, art forms and philosophies of our ancestors and tikanga Māori allow us to create, communicate and connect. And the latest technologies in design and strategy help our people toward a better future.”