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Ngāti Paoa has become the sixth of the 12 Hauraki iwi to sign the Hauraki Collective Settlement.
The signing came despite a last-minute bid by the faction controlling the post-settlement governance entity to block it.
About 30 people gathered at Karaka Bay on Auckland's eastern edge, the same spot where Ngāti Paoa ancestors signed the Treaty of Waitangi 179 years ago.
The Ngāti Paoa Iwi trust sought an injunction this morning, too late to stop the signing.
Negotiator Morehu Wilson says it confirms the decision of the ratification process, which drew 94 percent support.
He says issues the trust has raised about overlapping claims and the commercial structures for shared ownership of Hauraki forests can be resolved by building relationships with neighbouring iwi.
Now Ngāti Paoa has signed, the other six iwi holding out may also be encouraged to put pen to paper.
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