Govt settlements empower Maori

Their land was confiscated, their homes burned down and many of their people killed.

Now, 150 years later, the indigenous Ngai Tuhoe tribe in New Zealand is getting a new start. The government has apologized for its past atrocities, handed over NZ$170 million ($125 million) and agreed the tribe should manage a sprawling, rugged national park it calls home.

Last year's settlement is one of dozens the government has signed with Maori tribes in a multibillion-dollar process described in a UN report as imperfect but nevertheless "one of the most important examples in the world of an effort to address historical and ongoing grievances of indigenous peoples".