Summary
Ngāti Pāhauwera is a confederation of hapū with historical interests in northern Hawke’s Bay. Their core area of interest stretches from the Ohinepaka Stream (south of Wairoa) to the Waikari River and inland from these areas towards the Maungaharuru range and north towards the Waiau River. This settlement Act provides the standard; agreed historical account and Crown acknowledgments, which form the basis for a Crown Apology to Ngäti Pähauwera; cultural redress; and financial and commercial redress. Of particular importance to ecological jurisprudence is the Crown acknowledgment of Ngāti Pāhauwera’s connection to the Mohaka, Waikari, and Waihua Rivers to as taonga and the mauri (life force) of their spiritual and material well-being. This binds the Crown to recognize that to Ngāti Pāhauwera these rivers are more than a body of water. These rivers are a sacred part of the natural environment that Ngāti Pāhauwera are spiritually connected to.