Danny KeenanDanny Keenan

Danny Keenan (Ngāti Te Whiti, Te Ātiawa) is a Māori historian and writer, and was a founding member of Te Pouhere Kōrero Māori Historians Network. He presents a Māori view on the Land Wars at www.newzealandwars.co.nz. He has a PhD in history, obtained at Massey University in 1994 and is the author of the biography Te Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka (Huia Publishers, 2015).

Debunking the ‘one people’ myth: a historian on the invention of Hobson’s Pledge

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Māori historian Dr Danny Keenan explains why it is highly unlikely William Hobson ever made his famous ‘pledge’. Great play has been made by anti-Māori Pākehā on a statement attributed to Lieutenant Governor Hobson at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, that new settlers and Māori ‘were now one people’. But did Hobson ever … Read more

A place for returning: injustice, legacy and reconciliation at Parihaka

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Taranaki will tomorrow witness a formal reconciliation and settlement with the Crown. And like so much Māori history, it is about mana surviving, despite the odds, writes historian Danny Keenan. The Parihaka community in Taranaki will tomorrow meet with Crown officials, including the minister of treaty settlements, Chris Finlayson, to hear an apology, and to receive … Read more

Parihaka, 5 November 1881

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What happened that morning in Parihaka on November 5, 1881? Te Whiti O Rongomai by Danny Keenan sets the scene for the armed invasion. The morning was cold for late spring, with moist air clinging to the sleeping villagers gathered together. Some were stirring, huddled under sodden blankets, listening for the sound of the troops. … Read more