The Te Atiawa (Taranaki) claim was launched in 1990 at Owae Marae, Waitara. To read more of the origins of the Te Ātiawa Claim, click here – Origins of Te Ātiawa Claim.
The Te Ātiawa Claim process lasted for 24 years and proved to be exceedingly complex, culturally, legally and, not least, politically.
In 1996, after six years of careful deliberations, the Waitangi Tribunal issued its first Report on the Taranaki investigations. The Report canvassed in prodigious detail the histories underlying the multiple Claims lodged by the 8 tribes of Taranaki, of which Te Ātiawa was one. The other iwi of Taranaki are Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Ruahine, Taranaki Tuturu, Ngāti Mtunga, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Maru.
After the Report was issued, individual iwi proceeded with their respective negotiations towards settlement. The final years of the Te Ātiawa – Crown negotiations were marred by internal dissent.
In 2014, the Te Ātiawa Claim was finally settled with the signing of a Deed of Settlement in New Plymouth. Negotiations amongst Te Ātiawa in preparation for this historic signing continued to be marred with disagreements.
For an account of the signing of the Deed of Settlement, and the events leading to that occasion, see here – Signing the Deed of Settlement 2014.