Te Ao Māori

Te Mana seeks negotiation mandate

11:22 am on 12 March 2014

Descendants of Bay of Plenty tribe Te Mana o Ngati Rangitihi are being asked to back a bid to strike a settlement with the Crown.

Leaders of the iwi plan to enter into direct negotiations with the Office of Treaty Settlements, and six hui will be held in April to seek a mandate from the people to begin talks.

A mandating strategy launched last year has been on hold to gather further feedback from tribal members.

Meetings will be held in Rotorua, Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Matata, and voting for the mandate runs for three weeks from 29 March.

Traditional rohe [territory] Te Mana o Ngati Rangitihi covers Kawerau, Murupara and a stretch of the Bay of Plenty coast.