Auckland iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is heading to court to get clarity from the Crown on overlapping Treaty claims.
Photo:
The tribe's deputy chair, Ngarimu Blair, said it was about protecting its settlements, not stopping anyone else's.
"Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has been very accommodating, constructive and flexible in its approach to achieve a settlement for wider Auckland," he said.
"We want all iwi in Tāmaki to settle with the Crown. However, the Crown has a responsibility to settle grievances honourably, without undermining existing settlements.
"Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has maintained ahi kā roa here for centuries. We cannot support the Crown in its proposed transfer of land within our rohe to other iwi." Mr Blair said.
But it is understood two properties in central Auckland which are being offered to Ngāti Pāoa are part of Ngāti Whātua's claim inquiries.
The iwi received property on the Auckland's North Shore under commercial redress, not cultural redress.
It comes after the Māori king Tuheitia of Waikato-Tainui refreshed the tribe's claim to parts of Tāmaki Makaurau.
