Maori Land Inheritance

Discussing Land Ownership may not seem to have a lot to do with Tohungatanga and Healing, but for our people the Whenua, the Land, is everything. This generation is not only engaged in struggles to have confiscated lands returned, but is also conflicted and lost in how to find ways to return to the Land for sustenance and healing. Therefore it is necessary to look at the practicalities of negotiating the minefield that is the Maori Land Court system of shareholding, ownership, Trust responsibilities and Land Mangement in pakeha terms. And this is only the beginning of the things our Rangatahi need to know.

Te Urewera

Photo by Richard Herewini.

Understanding land inheritance is a big job, but its something that I feel we all should learn more about. One of the things that any shareholder should do is a MLC search of the names of all shareholders of the blocks you have an interest in. These are all members of your Hapu, and the connections may go back 5 or more generations to the original Rangatira and whanau. Next thing would be to search where your own shares came from. If you know who is who of the descendants from your Grandparents you're halfway there. But have a look at the Title that your Grandma had. Was she the Rangatira, or sole shareholder of a particular land block. If so, you've only got her descendants to deal with. However, its more likely that she would have had shares allotted to her, and each of her brothers and sisters would have equivalent shares. So you're immediately looking at all the other descendants - all the cuzzies. They're still part of your Hapu. By this time we're talking heaps and heaps of people. And you still probably have to go back a couple more generations at least to try and find the first lot of owners when the MLC first attempted to quantify the shareholdings of each owner. You'll find all that information in the Minutes of the Court.

It was in the early 1900s that most of the remaining Maori Lands came under the 'care' of the MLC - and there were disputes way back then. 'Ownership' and 'Shares' were literally a foreign concept to Maori, who lived under the rule of Heads of Families. The Rangatira being the Senior of all the Whanau joined together in Hapu. 

Rangatira me Tohunga

Tiripou Te Wairama 

Haewera Orupe Pukepuke Tuhua

Ngai Tuhoe Potiki

Back in the day the Rangatira's word was law. My Kuia was the last of that old style Rangatira. She had the authority to decide which area of land which family could settle on and build a home, or a tennis court. She had authority to have a Wharenui moved from one block of land to another and did so. She advised on work, careers and study for each of her children and their children. Each of her children held a certain rank that came to be styled on the English nobility - hence 'Duke', 'Duchess', 'Earl', 'Prince', 'Princess' etc. This was quite common throughout Maoridom at that time of transition from a Maori world to a Pakeha one. The value of those titles as names is that you can then go back and trace birth order for the whakapapa and determine which line is tuakana and which teina. Of course in later generations parents chose titles as first names for their babies that didn't mean anything more than how they felt about the mana of their baby within their own whanau - not at Hapu level.

Being Rangatira was not always about birth order, because a Rangatira who did not care for the people, or who led the Hapu into disaster in battle, could be deposed. Being Rangatira was often about natural leadership - not the biggest mouth, but the most effective person to ensure the survival and welfare of the Hapu. Of course this got completely screwed up when members of the Hapu made the big push into cities for work. In many cases the land was left in the care of the Aged, and those who were not fit for employment in a pakeha world. Yet the concept of Ahi Kaa - taking care of the home fires, ended up giving great mana and power to those who did not move from the land. Conversely it displaced the Ure of the Rangatira class who did move to other areas for work, married outside of their Iwi, and didn't take their children and mokos back to learn of their heritage. So today there are many mokopuna who have never been on a Marae, and who when they go back home are treated as 'outsiders' or 'pakeha'. Its a sad and terrible situation for all.

In the meantime, the MLC is looking for Trustees to take care of the land blocks. The role of a Trustee is quite complex. First of all they need to have an understanding of the Law. Pakeha Law. Secondly they need a sound Administration background - they need to understand things like the Law of Meeting Procedure. If the land has at any time been amalgamated into other larger blocks in earlier generations for the purposes of doing business, eg Farming or Forestry, the job of the Trustees is even more complex. They have to understand Business and Corporate Law, and they have to know how to make a buck out of the assets. Sure they can employ advice, such as Accountants, Managers, and so on, and the fact of the matter is that the positions usually go to pakeha who have the necessary qualifications. For those of our Maori whanau who have the brains to get a varsity qualification, most are going to opt for a career that is going to benefit themselves. That's not necessarily going to be of benefit to the Hapu, or Iwi.

Then on top of all that in terms of Pakeha qualifications for Land and Asset Management, our Iwi leaders also need to masters of tikanga. Because in the end, if you can't make it on the Marae Atea you're nothing and nobody in Maori terms.

The Trustees for any block of land are only the 'Owners' in terms of keeping things tidy for MLC records. They have a responsibility to be answerable at Law. Hui for the Hapu/Whanau members are a headache to call - because there are no official records of shareholders whereabouts - they can be anywhere in the world. And that's the shareholders, never mind their tamariki and mokopuna who may be at the age of being influential in their own family circles - and yes, qualified and talented. Calling a family reunion for any purpose is a huge job. Just getting a date where everyone can get together to discuss things, to educate the Rangatahi, to hold noho Marae - these things take time, and money. Its hard to impress the urgency of this mahi on people who are away trying valiantly to feed their kids.

Of course its possible to call a whanau hui for the express purposes of changing the Trustees. This can happen when an older Trustee dies for instance and replacements are needed. Under MLC terms a Trustee is put in place for life. It is not necessary to hold AGM to re-elect Trustees unless that is in the terms of the original Trust Order. So get a copy of the Trust Order and have a read of the whole thing first. There will usually be provision for any shareholder to require a meeting of all shareholders to be called - but there will be regulations to be observed. If the Trust is running a business that pays dividends to shareholders, then they are required to keep financial records that are to be made available to all shareholders, and usually they do hold an AGM which all shareholders are entitled to attend, receive reports, minutes, financial records, and participate in debate, vote, and so on.

If it comes to something like who has the right to occupy Grandma's whare - most often that is the privilege of the tuakana. But again, that can get messy when a younger child or whangai has been brought up by the Kuia and suddenly loses a home that they may have put a lot of work into in the Kuia's lifetime - or they may have been the ones there making her last days comfortable and happy. That's not to say that the other members of the family shouldn't be allowed to benefit from staying there too, but this is the thing that most often leads to family disputes. As a Grandma myself I'd like to be able to make provision for all my descendants - but realistically its not really possible, because I don't have enough money to provide a home for them all. They have to make their own way in the world. I know that. I don't have to like it. What I have done is put all my shares into a Whanau Trust so that all my descendants can belong without having their shares quantified, or the shareholding broken down any further. Whether that will result in equality for my great great grandkids I don't know. Sadly, I doubt it. Human qualities being what they are, I know that not all my descendants will be fit to lead, or care for the Hapu. They will not all love and accept each other. I wish they would, but I bet my own Kuia wished the same once upon a time.