Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo - A collective redress package deal that will see Taranaki Maunga gain personhood and a co-governance framework applied in management of the national park has been signed off by Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and the Crown.
Lead iwi negotiator Jamie Tuuta said iwi were pleased to negotiate and develop a framework that “gives expression to, and life to, our maunga going forward but also reflects ngā iwi o Taranaki collectively.
“I think it provides a really good blueprint and framework for the country when we think about our relationship to our maunga, but also the relationship between iwi and the Crown,” he said.
While six years of negotiations and six weeks of ratification led to the signing of the redress, iwi negotiator Liana Poutu says the challenge was made easier for them by the battles that were fought by their tūpuna.
"It really is a milestone. It’s been a long time coming. Many of our tupuna fought a long, hard battle and our road has been a little bit easier than those that were fought before us.
“Our journey has been one where we didn’t experience any of the types of hardships that our tūpuna faced when they were engaging with the Crown for the return of the mana of our maunga to them.
“So our journey has been a little bit easier because of them. They’ve laid that path out for us and certainly we owe a lot to our tūpuna, to our ancestors who fought the fight before us,” Poutu said.
The eight iwi – Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, Taranaki Iwi, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Maru, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Ruanui, and Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi – cover the whole Taranaki region and represent 60,000 members.
In a statement, Treaty Minister Andrew Little said the deed recognises the Crown’s historic breaches of the Treaty in relation to Taranaki Maunga, including the confiscation of 1.2 million acres of Taranaki land.
“Today is a historic moment for not only Ngā Iwi o Taranaki, the Crown, the Taranaki region, but Aotearoa New Zealand. It is also a significant step towards reconciliation between the Crown and Ngā Iwi o Taranaki.”
Little said the apology will follow at a later date, as requested by the iwi collective.
Glossary
maunga – mountain
Ngā Iwi o Taranaki – collective name of eight iwi of Taranaki (listed in article)
Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo – name of collective redress deed reflecting intention to ‘a commitment to bring about harmony or balance’
tūpuna – ancestors
mana – prestige, authority, power, status
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