The Right of Deciding is a photographic exhibition that explores the struggle to retain authority over land, identity, memory, and historical meaning in Te Tauihu. The title reflects the enduring assertion by Rangitāne o Wairau that they possessed the right to determine their own relationships to whenua, occupation, and political authority, despite colonial attempts to diminish or erase those rights.

Opening in June 2026 at Te Kahu o Waipuna, the exhibition coincides with the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Port Underwood on 17 June 1840, where Ihaia Kaikōura signed on behalf of Rangitāne. Through images of landscapes, waterways, and places marked by memory, encounter, and survival, the exhibition asks viewers to consider who has held the power to decide — and how those decisions continue to shape the present.

Presented alongside He Kura Toi Tangata: 50 Years of the Waitangi Tribunal, the exhibition situates local histories within wider national conversations about Te Tiriti, justice, and historical redress. Drawing attention to the persistence of Rangitāne presence and memory within the landscape, The Right of Deciding invites reflection on the ongoing significance of history in shaping contemporary understandings of authority, belonging, and place.

Image: The signature of Ihaia Kaikoura, a notable 19th-century Rangitāne rangatira (chief) who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) on June 17, 1840, at Port Underwood.