Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 75, No. 2

 

Restitution of Land to New Zealand Maori: The Role of Social Structure
By Steven C. Bourassa and Ann Louise Strong

 

Abstract

This article has two interrelated objectives. One is to give an account of recent efforts by the New Zealand government to return land to Maori. The other is to consider the role of social structure in facilitating or hindering the restitution process.

Concerning the return of land, we commence with a brief statement of the historical context, followed by a discussion of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, which initiated a process of restitution, and its 1985 amendment, which greatly expanded the scope of potential claims against the government. We then review the government's principles for restitution, relevant legislation and court decisions, and procedures for claims hearings and settlement.

In regard to our second objective, we hypothesize that the decentralized power structure of Maori society makes it difficult to resolve land issues, but that tribes with unusually strong leadership will tend to fare relatively well. We also hypothesize that the greater visibility and involvement of Maori in mainstream New Zealand society works to their advantage when compared with indigenous groups in other countries. We address our first hypothesis with comparative case studies of the successful Waikato-Tainui claim, submitted by a highly centralized tribe, and the unresolved Muriwhenua claim, submitted by a more typical group that lacks strong leadership. We then explore our second hypothesis by comparing the role of Maori in New Zealand society with that of indigenous groups in Australia, Canada and the United States. In particular, we note that Maori make up a relatively high percentage of the population, they are highly concentrated in urban areas, and they do not have to compete for attention with any other sizable ethnic or racial minority groups.