February 24, 2021
Years of effort to retrace Moriori history
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little says the Moriori settlement is a testament to the work done by the people of Rēkohu-Chatham Islands to restore and protect their history.
The settlement bill passed this week includes a crown apology, $18 million in financial redress, the transfer of lands of cultural and spiritual significance to Moriori on Rēkohu (Chatham Island) and Rangihaute (Pitt Island), as well as commitments on customary fisheries and shared management of natural resources.
Mr Little says he was moved by this week’s pōwhiri, in which the names were read of the 33 ancestors who in 1862 petitioned Governor George Grey about their plight since their islands were invaded by iwi from Taranaki in 1835.
"What Moriori have done in the last 40 years is to retrace their history and hold on to it and present it in a very tangible way and what we saw at the pōwhiri on Tuesday was another manifestation of that. It really is a testament to those who have put in so many hours over so many years so we do have that record and we do remember and we do reflect," he says.
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