A Maori academic, Rawiri Taonui, is calling for a truth and reconciliation commission to turn the spotlight back on Maori historical grievances.
Mr Taonui, the head of Maori and ethnic studies at Canterbury University, will tell the Psychological Society's annual conference in Rotorua that New Zealand continues to suffer from historical amnesia.
He told Waatea News that similar commissions in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and some South American countries have allowed people to deal with their history and move on.
Mr Taonui says anyone who speaks the truth about genocide and historical trauma in New Zealand, like Maori Party MP Tariana Turia, can expect a backlash.
