Abstract:
This article explores the process of claiming property and rights through Maori descent group identities. In particular, it examines the way that the State, through the Treaty claims process, reconfigures Maori group identities and political structures, elevating the corporate iwi above hapu and whanau groups. More specifically, the discussion details how Kingitanga leader Robert mahuta sucessfully advanced Waikato Maori claims to land and the Waikato River by effectively representing Waikato-Tainui as an enduring and important super-iwi
