Below is a short Summary Overview of Te Tihi o te Rae along with a complete set of all the Deed of Settlement documents initialled by our Trustees in Wellington on the 12th of December, 2022 (If you click on any of the below links it will take you to a PDF you are able to download and save)
Summary of the Historical Background to the claims by Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
Deed of Settlement Te Tihi o te Rae – Part 1 pages: 1-95
Deed of Settlement Te Tihi o te Rae – Part 1 pages: 96-190
Deed of Settlement Schedule: General Matters
Deed of Settlement Schedule: Property Redress
Deed of Settlement Schedule: Attachments
Please note: Some of these files are also quite large so there may be a small delay in them opening once you have clicked on each link
12 December 2022
Te Korowai o Wainuiārua initial our Deed of Settlement: Te Tihi o te Rae
Judith Treanor (left) and Rangirea Williams (right) with Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little
In 1840 rangatira of three Central North Island tribes Tamakana, Tamahaki and Uenuku first signed te Tiriti o Waitangi, on Monday descendants of these mighty chiefs initialled their Deed of Settlement: Te Tihi o te Rae.
Te Korowai o Wainuiārua chair Aiden Gilbert said the initialling signals a new start for the iwi and an exciting opportunity to finally, following extensive delays caused by the Covid pandemic, move forward into the process of whānau ratification and endorsement.
“Today was highly significant, many whānau started this journey and today, we stand as the ones left to finish the mahi our old people started 180 years ago.”
“Over this time there has been the continual occupation of our ancestral lands, attacks and war against our whānau and we had been totally ostracised by Government through the labelling of our people as Hauhau rebels.
“Now, by initialling Te Tihi o te Rae we have finally reached a time where our three tribes have been formally and officially re-recognised and acknowledged.
“We have always been a part of our community but today, we are now again able to stand and be visible again on our lands which, has been the one of the biggest causes of mamae for our people.”
One of the rare things about this settlement is three tribes have been clustered together which, at times Mr Gilbert said has made it difficult in adhering to everyone’s mamae and their unique issues with the Crown,” Mr Gilbert said.
“This has been a challenge for the negotiations team in terms of satisfying everyone who has claims and this package is never going to appease or, please all our whānau.
“If we look at the statistics, it is only around 3-percent of what is really owing to us.
“If Settlement is about justice, this is not justice however, it’s a positive start that now gives the descendants of Tamakana, Tamahaki and Uenuku a newfound respect and most importantly formal recognition by the Crown so we can now begin to take our next steps together in developing a meaningful partnership.”
Along with an apology from the Crown and financial and commercial redress, cultural redress includes a total of 19 sites of cultural significance will be vested across the vast rohe of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua ranging from Whangamomona and Retaruke in the north traversing through Waimarino-National Park and Raetihi down the Whanganui River, Pipiriki and Ōhoutahi.
Overlay classifications are also included at Pōkākā which included part Erua Scenic Reserve, the Mākātote Scenic Reserve parcels west of State Highway, Manganui-a-te-Ao Scenic Reserve, and Pōkākā Scenic Reserve to help further the aspirations of Iwi to develop an ecosanctuary.
“I want to acknowledge all those who have passed on and haven’t been here to see this day,” Mr Gilbert said.
“It has been a privilege, an honour to be a part of this and finally be able to start to see an end this journey started so long ago.
“Our journey hasn’t ended, it will never end, our tamariki and mokopuna will continue to the legacy left to us by our tūpuna.”
Hīkoi to initial Te tehi o te rae, our Deed of Settlement
11 December 2022
15 March 2022:
Three Tribes – One Settlement
Te Korowai o Wainuiārua is the name of the Large Natural Group recognised by iwi and the Crown as representing the descendants of three tūpuna – Uenuku, Tamakana and Tamahaki. Through Uenuku Charitable Trust, the group has been mandated to negotiate settlement of claims against the Crown for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Te Korowai o Wainuiārua: Treaty Claims – Uenuku Charitable Trust
On 1 February 2014, a Hui-ā-Iwi at Mangamingi Pā called for a new tribal authority, and Uenuku Charitable Trust (UCT) was established. Three tūpuna – Tamakana, Tamahaki and Uenuku – were identified as unifying our Treaty of Waitangi claims area as a Large Natural Grouping (LNG). The LNG was named Te Korowai o Wainuiārua. In July 2015, the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua claimant community supported the resolution:
“That Uenuku Charitable Trust is mandated to represent Te Korowai o Wainuiārua in negotiations with the Crown for the comprehensive settlement of all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims that relate to Te Korowai o Wainuiārua.”
The Deed of Mandate for negotiations was formally recognised in July 2016. In February 2017, Uenuku Charitable Trust signed the Terms of Negotiation in which we determined the rules for how we act during negotiations with the Crown. An Agreement in Principle was signed with the Crown in November 2018. The Agreement in Principle outlines a broad settlement package, including provisional Crown acknowledgements of its Treaty breaches, financial and commercial redress of $21.7 million, and the return of sites of cultural significance to Uenuku, Tamakana and Tamahaki.
The Agreement in Principle will be developed into a Deed of Settlement through further negotiations between the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Negotiations Team and the Crown. These negotiations are expected to continue through 2019 and into 2020. In this phase crucial decisions will be required on the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE) that will receive the settlement and manage assets going forward. To be clear, UCT will not be the entity that receives settlement assets – a new entity will be created for that task, and we will be looking for direction on who you want to receive and manage the assets, and how.
We have held extensive rounds of hui to inform negotiations, including with kaumātua, Wai claimants, hapū, local authorities, land trusts, government agencies, and neighbouring iwi. We have held talks with Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hāua and the Whanganui Land Settlement Trust on overlapping land interests and the Treaty settlement process, some of them ongoing. We have taken great strides in settling our respective and shared interests, or – because of our extensive shared whakapapa – how we might look after each other’s interests. All of these conversations – although sometimes challenging – have been good, and we are committed to continuing to work through these discussions.
As well as comprehensive land settlement, we are involved in a number of other settlements, including:
- Tongariro National Park, which will be negotiated by a collective of iwi with interests in the park.
- Whanganui National Park, a significant portion of which sits within our area of interest. In 2016, we facilitated a number of hui of iwi with interests in Whanganui National Park for preliminary discussions.
Negotiations Team
UCT has appointed a team to drive negotiations with the Crown and represent the interests of our people.
- Lead Negotiator – Chris McKenzie (leads all aspects of our multiple-settlement workstreams)
- Negotiator – Paora Haitana
- Negotiator – Aiden Gilbert
- Treaty Manager – Steve Hirini
The Negotiations Team is supported by specialist advisors, an historian, a research committee, and the UCT Board of Trustees.
Historian – Professor Richard Boast, ONZM
We are proud to have with us Professor Richard Boast, ONZM, who specialises in legal history and Māori land law. A Queen’s Counsel and lecturer at Victoria University’s School of Law, Professor Boast has written many research reports for the Waitangi Tribunal process and has been an expert historian over many years in settlement negotiations between iwi and the Crown. He has made special submissions to the Tribunal, including on the law relating to the foreshore and seabed, Crown purchasing of Māori land, and the Native Land Court. Professor Boast has published a three-volume critique of leading judgments of the Native Land Court and in 2009 his book ‘Buying the Land, Selling the Land’, which dealt with Māori land and the Native Land Court from 1865-1920, was awarded the Montana Book award for history. In 2015 Professor Boast was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in recognition of his contribution to legal-historical scholarship. In the New Year Honours 2018, Professor Boast was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the law and Māori. Professor Boast is working with our Research Team to complete a comprehensive report incorporating traditional history, the Native Land Court and an historical account.
Research Team
We have a core team of researchers which includes Don Robinson, Boy Cribb, Gaye Whitu, Kura Wanikau and Edward (Fred) Clark – and we draw on other expertise as needed. Uncle Jim Edmonds is our kaumātua and cultural advisor. Mapping research and support is provided by Jake Robinson.
Three Tribes – One Settlement
Native Land Court records and other primary sources identify Uenuku, Tamahaki and Tamahaki as the eponymous ancestors of their own discrete tribes. Whilst these tribes are also known as tribes of the Whanganui River they have been recorded as their own distinct entities. This is in line with our own traditional histories. Each tribe had numerous hapū aligned to them.
The Crown expectation that all three tribes settle in one collective has caused significant discomfort and unrest amongst the various tribal entities and is a complicating factor in settling historical claims.
Area of Interest
The Te Korowai o Wainuiārua area of interest is large and extends across four Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry districts. Our interests have been evidenced in these respective tribunal inquiries including Taihape, Whanganui, Rohe Pōtae and Tauponuiātia.
12 December 2019 Pōkākā Information Flyer
2 August 2019: Pōkākā Ecosanctuary Video
23 November 2018: Agreement in Principle
20 February 2017: Terms of Negotiation
20 June 2016: Recognition of Mandate
5 February 2016: Deed of Mandate
5 February 2016: Notification of Mandate to Negotiate
5 February 2016: Appendix A – Mandate Declaration of Result
5 February 2016: Appendix B – Uenuku Trust Deed
5 February 2016: Appendix C – UCT Representation Protocol
5 February 2016: Appendix D – UCT Engagement Strategy
5 February 2016: Appendix E – UCT Registration Form
5 February 2016: Appendix F – TKoW Whakapapa Form
5 February 2016: Appendix G – Mandate Hui Public Notice
5 February 2016: Appendix H – Mandate Hui Presentation
5 February 2016: Appendix I – TPK Summary Report
5 February 2016: Appendix J – Disputes Resolution
He karanga atu rā
There are many, many challenges and opportunities facing our people, including pressing environmental, social, cultural, political and economic issues. As we move carefully and steadily toward a settlement that may help provide a foundation from which to address these issues, we will need your ideas, involvement and support. We call for those who can to bring their skills and energy home to National Park, Raetihi, Makaranui, Ohakune, Pipiriki, our rivers and maunga, and the wider rohe to assist in the vast amount of mahi required to protect the interests of our taonga whenua, maunga, awa and whānau.