Mana Whenua and the Settlement of Treaty of Waitangi Claims in the Central North Island of New Zealand

This paper discusses the application of mana whenua or Māori custom law in a controversial Treaty of Waitangi settlement known as the “Treelords Deal.” First, I begin by defining the concept of mana whenua in both a traditional and contemporary context. Second, this paper examines the academic and legal definitions of mana whenua, exploring the debates around different customary practices of mana whenua. The third part of this paper looks at the Treelords Deal and the settlement of Treaty of Waitangi claims to the Central North Island forestry lands and how the concept of mana whenua is being deliberately misinterpreted by certain large iwi (tribes) for their own commercial gain whilst disenfranchising smaller but very significant landowning iwi in the Central North Island of New Zealand.