Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu

Ngai Tahu are the Maori people of the southern islands of New Zealand, Te Waipounamu. As New Zealand's third largest tribe there are over 30,000 members scattered around its territory, the North Island and overseas.

Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu is the governing body that oversees the tribe's activities and is made up of democratically elected representatives from the 18 runanga (or tribal) councils. The tribe has three separate divisions that manage administration (Office of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu), commercial activities (Holdings Corporation) and delivery of social and cultural programmes (Development Corporation).

For over 150 years Ngai Tahu petitioned the Crown over land that was taken and contracts that were defaulted on in New Zealand's colonial past. Generation after generation of Ngai Tahu devoted their lives towards the search for justice and some form of redress. In 1998 the tribe and the Crown reached a milestone in this nation's history when the Ngai Tahu Claim Settlement legislation was passed. This settlement ensures that Ngai Tahu can look forward to a promising future where Ngai Tahu can participate fully in New Zealand society.