What does it mean to be a bicultural society? What are the implications, and what are the opportunities? Those were questions on my mind as I explored Auckland, New Zealand’s by-far-largest city.

Like many who come to this beautiful country, it was my hope – and my plan – to discover Maori culture, and to compare that to the European colonial culture that makes up the other “half” of modern New Zealand (called Aotearoa by the Maori, and while both names are used with a hyphen, I am going to alternate at times, so please understand that I do not mean any offense toward anyone who prefers one name to the other). I had a Maori cultural show lined up, and a visit to a museum to see some Maori artifacts.

But what I found here is so much deeper, while also being so much more nuanced. And it requires a bit of a history lesson.

When we were in Wellington, we explored the Maori history of Aotearoa, noting the mythology of the creation of the islands and some of the societal structure prior to European arrival. (Click here to read about that.) Today, we begin in the era following the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori tribes and the English Crown.

To say that there were some ambiguities – or outright lies – in the Treaty of Waitangi would be putting it mildly. The Maori expected their ownership of the vast majority of the land of their country to be respected, while the English believed that purchasing of land meant outright colonial ownership. With increased colonial settlement immediately following the treaty, and these conflicting views as to who was the “owner” of the land (no matter who was living on it), escalations took place – mainly on the part of the English colonists.

From 1845 to 1872 (though skirmishes continued into the 1880s), a series of violent conflicts between the English and various Maori tribes, called the New Zealand Wars, left more than two thousand Maori (including civilians) dead, and the colonists in control of a huge percentage of the land. It was a lopsided series of wars, in terms of both manpower (about 4,000 Maori warriors and close to 20,000 British troops) and technology.

In the aftermath, the British clamped down – hard – on Maori culture. While Maori landowners were given voting rights in 1879 (among the first indigenous populations anywhere to gain that ability), total assimilation was expected. In the early 20th century, the Maori language was banned in schools as part of a widespread effort to erase it altogether. Maori history was not taught, especially the history of the New Zealand Wars and the violations of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Maori culture in Aotearoa was never stamped out, although the decline was steep. In the 1970s, a true Maori civil rights movement was born. A 1975 march for Maori land rights got a lot of publicity, but a grassroots movement extended far beyond these sorts of public protests. For instance, 1977 saw the publishing of the first issue of Mana, a newspaper focused on Maori and Pacific Island voices and issues.

Gradually, things began to change. The Maori Language Act of 1987 not only saw the Maori language not be persecuted, but gain official language status. (As a direct result, one will notice that every governmental building, agency, sign, etc… in New Zealand has its name both in English and Maori. Maori interpreters are present in Parliament when members wish to speak in that language. The same goes for judicial proceedings. The list goes on.) God Defend New Zealand, the country’s second national anthem after the Commonwealth-wide God Save the King, has been sung in both Maori and English since the 1990s.

Traditional Maori culture has been increasingly part of the mainstream here, as well. New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks (and the women Black Ferns), performs a Maori dance/chant called a haka before games, and similar hakas can be found in public life in other spheres.

Education has been a bit slower to catch up. While schools must provide access to Maori language resources, it is not compulsory for students to learn the language, although as of 2025, roughly 31% of New Zealand’s students were enrolled in some sort of Maori language program, and only a third of those identify as Maori. That represents a sharp increase over the last decade. Likewise, Maori history is now a part of the mandated curriculum in Aotearoa, with the New Zealand Wars being required in history courses since 2022.

All this is to say that if you come to Auckland wanting to experience Maori culture, today’s New Zealand provides that simply as part of daily life. Because it is. From signage to language to tribal recognition to (increasingly) food, it is impossible to go anywhere without some exposure to what it means to be a Maori in modern society.

But if you want more, and you are looking for something more traditional, the best place to start is Auckland’s venerable War Memorial Museum. The building itself was built in the 1920s to be a dual-purpose national museum and memorial to World War One, and that split focus is evident today, with roughly 40% (in my estimation) of the exhibits being to New Zealand’s war efforts (from the New Zealand Wars – yes, even mentioning British atrocities – through modernity) and the remainder being natural, cultural, and historical in subject.

On my recent May 2026 visit, the Maori historical exhibit (and the corresponding Pacific Island exhibit) was closed for renovation, but it is a fascinating experience to see another separate exhibit dedicated to Maori natural history, with homage paid to native creation mythology and cosmology. It is another sign of how far biculturalism has come that these ideas are included next to fossils of ice age and earlier skeletons.

The War Memorial Museum also hosts a twice-daily Maori Cultural Experience, a show of traditional music and dance. It is a powerful experience done fully in the Maori language with English narration between the various aspects. (Just please make sure to pay attention to the announcement not to take photos until the modern guitar is included. I missed that part, and mistakenly took one prior, which was immediately deleted upon my recognition of my error. Don’t be me.)

While there is a supplemental admission for the experience, if you plan to come to the Auckland War Memorial museum anyway, it is a worthwhile addition.

Beyond that, the largest cultural immersion one can do is to simply explore. Note the Maori art and historical statuary side by side with that of the country’s colonial settlers. Realize that the standard greeting here in New Zealand used by everyone is in the Maori language, kia ora. Appreciate that the common names for endemic plants and animals are likewise the Maori. And so much more.

While other countries have tried to elevate their indigenous populations, to protect those cultures, and to take ownership of past wrongdoings, Aotearoa-New Zealand does so in a fully bicultural manner. That is, in the course of my travels, relatively unique. And while it hasn’t been an easy journey to get here, it is one that the entire population seems to accept. And it is hopefully going to get even better, with the remaining inequalities of modern society vanishing in short order. It is the stated goal of every New Zealand government, and of basically every person here.

Thank you to Tataki Auckland Unlimited for arranging my admission to the War Memorial and the Maori Cultural Experience, and one more apology for being distracted during the photography instructions.

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