The Role of History and Oral Traditions in the Recovery of Fagin's Ill-gotten Gains: Settling Ngāti Kahu's Claims against the Crown

Abstract

For over 160 years, Ngāti Kahu has been calling on the British Crown to uphold the promises made when Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. Our ancestors demanded the return of our lands, fisheries and all our resources which the British had stolen and then claimed as their own. As each generation of Ngāti Kahu either saw that its attempts to bring the Crown to account were ignored, or became frustrated with being marginalised and disempowered by settler governments, they passed on their knowledge of the injustices and unashamed breaches of Te Tiriti by the Crown to the following generations. They had an immovable faith and belief that the day would come when the Crown would see the error of its ways, recognise our mana (power, authority derived from the gods) and tino rangatiratanga (ultimate authority and power to control our own lives and resources, sovereignty) and restore our resources - and hence our well-being - to us. ....