Waikato regional economic profile - Waikato Regional Council

8 Iwi8.1 SummaryIwi that have rohe in the region are re-emerging both as part of the governanceframework and also as an economic force in their own right. The transfer of assets fromTreaty settlements has, in part, transformed Māori participation in the economy and iwihave employed a number of corporate structures to undertake economic developmentactivities. Comprehensive information about economic development activitiesundertaken by these types of organisations was not available at the time of writing.8.2 Tangata whenuaA significant proportion of the Māori population in the Waikato region can trace theirancestry to the early Māori navigators who sailed the Tainui and Te Arawa oceanvoyaging waka from Hawaiiki (early Polynesian settlements across the Pacific) duringthe period of New Zealand history that is generally referred to as the “great migration” asignificant event that is believed to taken place around 1350 AD marking the arrival of amagnificent fleet of Māori sailing canoes sailed to the shores of Aotearoa.Pre-European settlements were widely distributed, located near food, rivers and thecoast. As the population grew, pressures on resources increased tribal territoriality.Fortified villages on defensible landmarks, such as headlands or river terraces,dominated settlement.The term tangata whenua or people of the land acknowledges the special relationshipMāori have with their environment. Pepeha or aphorisms used by iwi and hapū includereferences to significant landscapes, waterways, ancestor and ancestral dwellings.Pepeha are useful in describing tribal rohe and ancestral connections, but also serve toemphasise the area of responsibility each tribe has as kaitiaki to maintain and protecttaonga or treasures for future generations.It is common for Māori to exchange such tribal sayings during formal and semi-formalintroductions, making specific references to:their mountainthe lands adjacent to the mountaintheir river and its flowthe coastline, or for inland tribes, often a large lake.The following iwi have tribal areas (rohe) within the Waikato region:TūwharetoaTe ArawaNgati Tahu - Ngati WhaoaNgati Kearoa - Ngati TuaraTuhourangi - Ngati WahiaoRaukawaNgati ManiapotoWaikatoHauraki.Figure 106 illustrates the iwi rohe within the Waikato region.Doc # 2069885 Page 109