Tupuna Awa and te awa tupuna : an anthropological study of competing discourses and claims of ownership to the Waikato River

Abstract

This thesis argues that the Waikato River lies at the heart of tribal identity and chiefly power and has therefore become a key focus of ongoing local struggles for prestige and mana among Waikato Maori. By analysing competing discourses about the river it examines some of the tensions and internal conflicts within the modern iwi entity of Waikato-Tainui, as well as the contestations for power between iwi and the State. These themes are observed most clearly in Treaty of Waitangi claims by Maori for ownership and guardianship rights. The process of claiming culminated in Waikato-Tainui and the Crown signing a Deed of Settlement for the river in 2009. The major outcome of this deed, as the thesis explains, is a new co-governance structure for the river that will have equal Maori and Crown representation. What has also transpired from the agreement, however, is the emergence of a new guard of Maori decision-makers who have challenged and displaced Kingitanga leaders as the main power brokers of the river. This thesis explores the bureaucratic processes and the unique river discourses that have been created by Maori, the Crown and other groups, such as Mighty River Power, and asks what role the politics of language plays in transforming identities, power-relations and sociopolitical hierarchies? A major focus of this thesis is the shifting relationships between identity, knowledge and power. Its hypothesis is that subtle shifts in discourse reflect wider social and symbolic struggles. Long before negotiating Waikato-Tainui's river claim, Kingitanga leaders such as Princess Te Puea Herangi and Sir Robert Mahuta established a discourse for the Waikato River using the idiom of Tupuna Awa that defined the Waikato River as an important tribal ancestor. In contrast, more recently Waikato-Tainui's river negotiators and Crown officials have embraced the idiom of Te Awa Tupuna, translated as 'ancestral river', which redefines Waikato Maori understandings of the river. This discourse emphasises iwi identity, iwi partnerships with the Crown and a 'vision' of co-managing the Waikato River. While much has been written about a singular 'Maori worldview' this study highlights the cultural specificity of Waikato Maori and their sense of place and ownership. It does this by drawing on thick descriptions and the multiple perspectives of the different actors who share interests in the river.