Tertiary institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand have been placed under the spotlight for claims of systemic racism. Following the claims made in relation to the University of Waikato in 2020, Unitec in 2021, and University of Otago in 2022, tertiary institutions have the responsibility to create an inclusive environment where systemic racism is dismantled, to meaningfully partner with Māori to construct a model for decolonisation, and to enhance the academic experience of Māori staff and students by weaving in mātauranga Māori into existing teaching and research practices. One university progresses ahead of other universities in its attempt to fulfil Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitment through the introduction of the Treaty Statement. In this paper, the Treaty Statement is used as a case study to identify how universities articulate bicultural commitments. To do so, our team (consisting of Māori and tauiwi scholars) performed a critical Tiriti analysis comprising five phases to investigate the degree of alignment of the statement with Te Tiriti. In this session, we share findings of our desktop analysis of how the Statements demonstrate engagement with Te Tiriti elements. We will conclude with recommendations of how tertiary institutions can strengthen their practices to live up to Te Tiriti aspirations.
