The three families stayed one night at Maketu as the guests of the Arawa tribe, 1966

Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'')."Te Arawa"
''Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. The tribes are based in the

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompa ...

and

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

areas and have a population of around 40,000.

History

The history of the Te Arawa people is inextricably linked to the Arawa canoe. The Te Arawa tribes have a close historical interest in the lakes around Rotorua. Many Te Arawa men fought for the Colonial Government in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...

that occurred in the mid-19th century in the North Island of New Zealand. Perhaps in part, for this reason, the iwi chose to negotiate directly with the

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

over their historical grievances, bypassing the

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on cl ...

. A series of negotiations has resulted in several settlements of their various claims, the largest of which involve the settlement relating to the 14 lakes, signed in December 2004, and the settlement for all the historical claims of a cluster of Te Arawa iwi and hapu signed on 30 September 2006. The Government apologised to Te Arawa for breaches of the

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

and paid $36 million in compensation, including up to 500 km² of Crown forest land, as well as 19 areas of special significance, including the Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve. On 18 December 2015 Te Arawa gained the right to vote in committee meetings of the Rotorua Lakes Council via an iwi partnership board, Te Tatau o Te Arawa. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi, including Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The station underwent a major transformation in 1993, becoming Whanau FM. One of the station's frequencies 99.1 was taken over by

Mai FM Mai FM is New Zealand's largest urban contemporary radio network, promoting Māori language and culture and broadcasting hip hop and rhythm and blues. It is located in Auckland, and is available in ten markets around the country. The network targ ...

in 1998; the other became Pumanawa 89FM before later reverting to Te Arawa FM. It is available on in

the 99.1 frequency is now broadcasting commercial station The Heat 991 FM which started broadcasting 15 April 2015.

Constituent iwi and hapu

The iwi and hapu that constitute Te Arawa include: : Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Rangiteaorere, Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Makino, Ngati Rangitihi, Ngati Rangiwewehi, Tapuika, Waitaha, Ngati Ngararanui, Ngati Rongomai, Ngati Tahu, Ngati Whaoa, Ngati Tarawhai, Ngati Te Roro o Te Rangi,

Ngati Kea Ngati Tuara ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written a ...

Ngati Tura-Ngati Te Ngakau ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film writte ...

, Ngati Uenukukōpako, Tūhourangi,

Ngati Wahiao ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

Ngati Manawa, and Ngati Tuwharetoa.

References

External links

Te Arawa website
{{Authority control