Ngāti Porou Treaty settlement

Ngāti Porou Treaty settlement
Name	Ngāti Porou Treaty settlement
Iwi	Ngāti Porou
Region	East Cape, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty
Date	2010s
Deed	Deed of Settlement (2010s)
Redress	Commercial redress, cultural redress, Crown apology

Ngāti Porou Treaty settlement The Ngāti Porou Treaty settlement is the negotiated redress between the Crown and the iwi Ngāti Porou concluding longstanding New Zealand Wars-era and post-contact grievances under the Treaty of Waitangi framework, resulting in a Deed of Settlement providing financial, cultural, and statutory remedies. The settlement, reached through the Waitangi Tribunal process and the Office of Treaty Settlements, involves reparations affecting lands on the East Cape, Gisborne District, and adjacent coastal rohe, with implications for iwi governance, resource management, and relationships with entities such as Te Puni Kōkiri, Land Information New Zealand, and regional councils.

Background

Ngāti Porou trace descent from ancestors including Porourangi, Uepohatu, and migrations associated with waka such as Horouta and Takitimu, establishing hapū across the East Cape and Te Tairāwhiti rohe. Contact with European explorers and settlers brought interactions with figures like James Cook, Samuel Marsden, and later colonial officials tied to statutes such as the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 and the Native Lands Act 1865, culminating in land alienations, confiscations, and transactions that were later scrutinised by the Waitangi Tribunal in inquiries akin to the Muriwhenua land claim and Wai 262 matters. Litigation and hearings referenced precedents from settlements with iwi including Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Awa, Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou neighbours like Rongowhakaata and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, and legislative instruments such as the Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei Claims Settlement Act 1991.

Negotiation process

Negotiations were conducted between mandated Ngāti Porou negotiators, hapū representatives, and Crown agents including the Office of Treaty Settlements, influenced by recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal's reports and settlement policy set by Te Puni Kōkiri and ministers such as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. The process involved statutory steps under frameworks similar to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and consultation mechanisms used in settlements with Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Maniapoto, including mandating hui with hapū, negotiating redress packages, and drafting a Deed of Settlement subject to ratification by iwi members and approval by the New Zealand Parliament via a settlement Act like the Ngāti Tūwharetoa Settlement Act. Parallel negotiations addressed site-specific issues at places such as Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay, Te Araroa, and the Cook Islands-linked seafaring heritage sites.

Deed of Settlement

The Deed of Settlement outlines Crown acknowledgements, a formal Crown apology comparable to those in the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 and the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Act 2014, financial and commercial redress, cultural redress including return or vesting of sites like marae and urupā, and statutory acknowledgements affecting planning instruments administered by bodies such as the Gisborne District Council and regional councils. Specific components echo mechanisms used in settlements with Ngāti Awa and Waikato-Tainui: ownership transfers of former Crown land, negotiated protocols for wahi tapu protection, and the establishment of governance entities modelled on incorporated and trust structures licensed under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 or specific settlement legislation. The Deed also records historical events involving Ngāti Porou rangatira and interactions with colonial officials, paralleling narratives addressed in other iwi deeds.

Redress and Crown commitments

Redress comprised financial compensation, return of culturally significant sites, and Crown commitments to statutory protections and administrative actions, consistent with precedents from settlements with Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, and Ngāti Toa. Commitments included Crown apologies, vesting of sites for marae and taonga management, mechanisms for co-management over natural resources akin to arrangements under the Resource Management Act 1991 and freshwater settlements, and commercial redress enabling participation in regional development initiatives alongside entities such as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and local trusts. Protocols for the protection of taonga species, tāonga works, and wahi tapu drew on tikanga articulated by kaumātua and scholars who have engaged with institutions like Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University.

Implementation and post-settlement governance

Implementation was overseen by Ngāti Porou post-settlement governance entities established to receive assets and exercise mandates similar to the governance models of Ngāi Tahu Holdings and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa. These entities coordinate with agencies such as Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry for the Environment, and regional authorities to give effect to co-management agreements, statutory acknowledgements, and development projects in areas including forestry, fisheries interfaces with Fisheries New Zealand, and tourism ventures linked to sites like Tolaga Bay Wharf and cultural experiences promoted through organisations comparable to Tourism New Zealand. Post-settlement obligations include reporting, benefit distribution to hapū and whānau, and disputes resolution processes modelled on precedent settlement instruments.

Cultural and socio-economic impacts

The settlement has influenced cultural revitalisation initiatives for reo Māori and kapa haka supported by institutions such as Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, economic development through investments in forestry and aquaculture aligning with frameworks used by Te Ohu Kaimoana and regional development agencies, and strengthened claims to governance over resources referenced in case law including Ngāti Apa v Attorney-General (2003). Socio-economic outcomes include enhanced capacity for housing, education scholarships liaising with universities such as University of Auckland and University of Otago, and partnerships with local councils on infrastructure upgrades. Cultural redress has enabled protection of wahi tapu, regeneration of marae such as those in Tokomaru Bay and Te Araroa, and the promotion of Ngāti Porou histories in national institutions like the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and archives held at Alexander Turnbull Library.

Category:Ngāti Porou