He Whakaputanga Moana: Transnational Indigenous Governance, Autonomy, and Impact

• In Event: Crime, Science and Politics WG Panel 7: Justice Across Cultures: Indigenous, Transnational, and Non-State Perspectives

Abstract

On the 28th of March 2024, Polynesian Kings and Indigenous leaders from Aotearoa (New Zealand), the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Hawaii, and Rapanui (Easter Island) signed He Whakaputanga Moana (the Ocean Declaration). This treaty, designed to widen the scope of cetacean protections in the South Pacific by granting these species legal personhood, represents a watershed moment of transnational Indigenous governance in a region that is often hostile to native voices. Through a Southern Green Criminological lens, this paper analyses three ramifications of He Whakaputanga Moana: the re-assertion of Indigenous authority and autonomy, the space for further transnational collaboration between Indigenous peoples and communities, and the tacit force such treaty’s places on settler governments. Noting the likely challenges to the treaty by regional and western powers, the authors argue that He Whakaputanga Moana represents a reclamation power by its signatories, and a burgeoning Indigenous influence in the international order.

Authors

• John Whitehead, Nottingham Trent University

• Elliot Doornbos, Nottingham Trent University