Henare

In New Zealand, division of land between Māori and European settlers is a complicated issue. Māori have strong spiritual bonds with the land, They regard land, soil and water as taonga (treasures) and see themselves as the guardians of this taonga, which provides a source of unity and identity for tangata whenua (local people).

When New Zealand was colonised by the British in 1840 many Māori lost their land to government acts established to purchase land cheaply from Māori to lease to wealthy emigrants, who would bring additional funds for investment.

This is a short snippet of one Māori tribe’s struggle to reclaim and restore their ancestral land which has been neglected by government.

Click CC for subtitles – Sous-titres en français en cliquant sur CC