'Most important decision in a generation': Maniapoto to initial Deed of Settlement

Maniapoto Maori Trust Board chair Keith Ikin.

The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) was on Thursday initialling the Maniapoto Deed of Settlement at Parliament.

The initialling was o place in Parliament Buildings with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon. Andrew Little and other Crown officials.

"What initialling means is that the DOS and proposed Post Settlement Governance Entity
(PSGE) can now be presented to our people to consider," says MM

Trust Board chairman Keith Ikin said the initialling meant the deed (DOS) and the Post Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE) could now be presented to the people.

"It is our people who will make the final decision on whether or not this settlement is agreed. We will be holding a series of hui in early 2021 to talk through the proposed DOS and PSGE with our whānau."

Keith says a number of matters are still unresolved with the Crown and he will push for progress on them over the next 2-3 months.

"This is a significant time for our people. It is the most important decision we will make in our generation," he says.

"As we initial today, we reflect on the sacrifice and the hard work of our whānau over
many generations who fought and advocated for our people within Te Nehenehenui."

A key focus of MMTB has been to take an inclusive approach, ensuring everyone has had an opportunity to have their say.

"It is really important that our whānau who whakapapa within Te Nehenehenui, are fully
informed and participate in the decision to approve, or not, the proposed settlement," says Keith.

"The DOS seeks to provide redress for historical injustice and sets out the expectations of a relationship with the Crown that our tūpuna have sought over many generations. The legacy our tūpuna have left us, their descendants within Te Rohe Pōtae, is one that is built on kotahitanga.

"Our rohe has withstood the intergenerational challenges of colonisation through our commitment to solidarity and finding our own way forward as a people. This settlement
provides opportunities for our generation and for generations to come."

A copy of the initialled Deed of Settlement will be made available on maniapoto.iwi.nz

To keep informed on what is happening with the settlement, MMTB encourages whānau to register or update their details at maniapoto.iwi.nz/tribal-register/