April 22, 2016
Iwi affiliation strong despite city life
A national online Maori identity poll has found 98 percent of respondents knew their iwi.
Half of them said they were iwi, while 41 percent said they were both iwi and urban.
What was dubbed the Maorimeter was organised by the National Urban Maori Authority and attracted 4000 respondents in the month it was live, as well as half a million Facebook impressions.
More than twice as many women filled in the 8-question poll than men.
NUMA chief executive Lance Norman says the poll confirmed many Maori living in the cities did not realise they were in fact urban Maori.
In the 2013 Census one in six or 110,000 Maori failed to indicate an iwi affiliation.
Mr Norman says NUMA hopes to make the survey an annual event as a way to find out how Maori want to be represented and served.
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