One of the country's largest and most contentious Treaty settlements for Eastern Bay of Plenty iwi Whakatōhea could soon be finalised.
Its members have two weeks to vote on a deal that includes a Crown apology, $100 million, and the return of a number of assets following some of the worst historic treaty breaches on record.
On the outskirts of Ōpōtiki, the battle site of Te Tarata is a painful reminder of those injustices.
"This was where the only cavalry charge in New Zealand took place," Anna Kurei of Ngāti Ira said.
"There was a mass confiscation of land and death of people. On top of that, there was also the raping of our women, the destruction of all of our whare through the scorched earth policy and all of our taonga were destroyed."
This occurred because the iwi was wrongly accused of killing German Missionary Carl Völkner in 1865.
Dozens of people were slaughtered on their own land.
"Our people lost everything," Kurei said.
"When we retreated into the gorge and continued to resist the only reason out tīpuna surrendered was because the women and children were taken and captured."
Lead negotiator Maui Hudson said more than a 150 years on, the settlement would give the iwi a chance to rebuild.
"One of the reasons we turned down the last settlement was the lack of whenua being returned. Now we've got 6692 hectares coming back.
"But, really, the jewel in the crown for this settlement is the marine space, five thousand hectares of marine space, reserved for aquaculture."
This unique component of the settlement would allow Whakatōhea to expand its successful mussel farm, which has already created nearly 200 jobs.
"The whenua that comes back to us is from the Department of Conservation. We don't get farms, we don't get forest, we don't have things that generate income. But the sea space is where we'll grow our future," Hudson said.
"It feels like its within our grasp."
Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board chairman Robert Edwards said he hoped his people would vote yes to settlement.
"It will give us an opportunity to create wealth, and get our land back, one acre at a time," he said.
"We have to settle as an iwi. There's no doubt about that in my mind."
But many within the tribe feel the settlement does not go far enough, including Kurei.
"We're not against settlement, we just think it's not right yet.
"The types of places we won't be getting back in settlement are our wahi tapu - Te Tarata, that won't be included in our settlement, it'll be gone."
It's taken 30 years to reach this stage in the settlement process. There's so much on the line and just one chance to get it right.
"That is is my task in life," Edwards said, "bring that journey to an end and to settle our claims and commence a new journey for our people, for my mokopuna."
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