May 11, 2016
70-Mile Bush part of Rangitaane deal
Just days after Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairapapa Tamaki nui a Rua signed an agreement in principle, negotiators for Rangitaane claims in the same rohe have initialed their deed of settlement.
It covers the second-largest geographical area of any treaty settlement to date, with redress sites from north of Dannevirke down to Turakirae-Cape Palliser.
Lead negotiator Jason Kerehi says the additional $32.5 million offered in redress for an iwi with a relatively small population is testament to the extent of the loss it suffered.
Rangitaane was left virtually landless as a result of the crown’s Treaty of Waitangi breaches, and it struggled to maintain its connection to its land and culture.
He says being acknowledged as tangata whenua of the region empowers the iwi and reaffirms its mana.”
As part of the settlement, Rangitaane will get the Pukaha Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre Reserve and Scenic Reserve – the last substantial remnant of the great forest Te Tapere Nui o Whatonga (also known to some as 70 Mile Bush) – and gift it back to the people of New Zealand.
It also gets the chance to buy the Ngaumu forest as part of its commercial settlement.
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