Editing National myth (section)

===New Zealand===
The [[Treaty of Waitangi]] is a document of central importance to the [[history of New Zealand]], its constitution, and its [[national mythos]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Renwick |first1=William |title=The Undermining of a National Myth: The Treaty of Waitangi 1970-1990 |journal=The Journal of New Zealand Studies |date=1991 |volume=3 |issue=4 |publisher=Victoria University of Wellington}}</ref> It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori people in New Zealand by successive governments and the wider population, something that has been especially prominent since the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Noel |title=The Treaty of Waitangi and the Relationship Between the Crown and Maori in New Zealand |journal=Brooklyn Journal of International Law |date=2002 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=132 |url=https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1371&context=bjil |access-date=4 October 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004213236/https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1371&context=bjil |url-status=live }}</ref> and has no independent legal status. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain [[William Hobson]] as [[Administrative consul|consul]] for the [[British Crown]] and by [[Māori people|Māori]] chiefs ({{lang|mi|[[rangatira]]}}) from the [[North Island]] of New Zealand.

[[Kupe]] was a legendary<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who was Kupe? |url=https://www.sea.museum/2020/07/01/who-was-kupe |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Australian National Maritime Museum |language=en}}</ref> [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] explorer who was the first person to discover [[New Zealand]], according to [[Māori history|Māori oral history]].<ref name="nzetc.victoria.ac.nz">{{Cite web |title=Chapter III. — Kupe—the Navigator {{!}} NZETC |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiHist-t1-body1-d3.html |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz}}</ref> It is likely that Kupe existed historically, but this is difficult to confirm. His voyage to New Zealand ensured that the land was known to the Polynesians, and he would therefore be responsible for the genesis of the Māori people.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Howe |first1=K.R. |title=Ideas about Māori origins - 1920s–2000: new understandings |url=http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ideas-about-maori-origins/page-5 |website=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=29 September 2022 |date=2005}}</ref>