Govt settlements empower Maori
By Associated Press in Waitangi | China Daily | Updated: 2015-03-17 07:58
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".
Photo