Our Iwi

Mookau ki runga

Taamaki ki raro

Mangatoatoa ki waenganui

Pare Hauraki, Pare Waikato

Te Kaokaoroa-o-Paatetere.

Mookau is above, Taamaki is below, Mangatoatoa is between. The boundaries of Hauraki, the boundaries of Waikato. To the place called the long armpit of Paatetere.

Waikato is one of four iwi within the Tainui Waka confederation, all of whom trace their ancestry back to the original voyagers aboard Tainui waka, which arrived in Aotearoa around 1350.

One of the largest iwi in Aotearoa with a registered membership of 90,000+, Waikato has held responsibility as Kaitiaki o te Kiingitanga (guardian of the King Movement) since 1858 when Pootatau Te Wherowhero was crowned the first Maaori King. Since then, eight monarchs, all tuupuna of Kiingi Pootatau, have led the movement distinctive for its commitment to uniting all iwi.

In 1995, a collective of 68 marae reached a raupatu (confiscation) claim settlement with the New Zealand Government. That settlement resulted in the Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995 and led to the establishment of the current tribal authority which is known as Waikato-Tainui and is governed by Te Whakakitenga o Waikato.

Te Whakakitenga oversees the implementation of the tribal strategy to support the social, cultural, educational, and economic development of its people and the environmental protection and enhancement of its whenua and waterways.

Since the Raupatu settlement, our tribal asset base has grown to $2.1b.