Reparations for Maori Grievances in Aotearoa New Zealand

• Published in: Reparations for Indigenous Peoples
• Main Author: Catherine J Iorns, Magallanes
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 24.01.2008
• Subjects: Maori; reparations; indigenous peoples; Waitangi; colonization; treaty
• ISBN: 0199235600; 9780199235605
• DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235605.003.0019

Before colonization, Maori controlled Aotearoa New Zealand. Colonization removed that control, along with control of much of its land and natural resources. The primary facilitator of this was a treaty between Maori and the British Queen – the Treaty of Waitangi – that was later breached by the incoming settlers and the resulting colonial government. The results of colonization and the breaches of the Treaty have caused many long-standing grievances among Maori, for which they have made many calls for reparations. This chapter describes both the grievances and the methods of reparations used in New Zealand. To understand Maori grievances, the background to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is described in section 2, the texts and different understandings of the Treaty itself are described in section 3, and breaches of the Treaty described in section 4. The three modern reparations mechanisms are described in section 5: (1) the tribunal inquiries into Maori grievances and its reports; (2) the role the courts have played; and (3) the negotiated reparations settlement packages. The negotiated settlement packages described include those in relation to the more traditional, historical, kin-based grievances as well as three examples of pan-Maori settlements: commercial fisheries, commercial forests, and broadcasting.