This article provides a historical perspective on the development of early childhoodeducation in Aotearoa/New Zealand in the context of the importance of the Treaty ofWaitangi and the Maori self-determination movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Theauthors discuss the Te Kohanga Reo movement as well as the Te Whdriki document,which is the bilingual and bicultural national curriculum for the preschool years.