Today we visited the office of the Ngai Tahu. The Ngai Tahu are the most populous South Island tribe and they were the first tribe to receive a settlement from the Waitangi Tribunal. The tribunal was set up to give legal teeth to the Treaty of Waitangi and to allow Maori tribes to receive apologies and symbolic restitution for the losses they have suffered since 1840. The tribunal is still actively hearing claims from a number of tribes. Because the Nagi Tahu are so numerous and received the first settlement they have done a lot of work to stop the loss of te reo Maori, especially their own particular dialect of the language. It has been interesting to see the wide diversity of Maori tribes as we have traveled through this country. I suspect it would be easy, if one didn't interact with many Maori people, to assume, like we do about American Indians in the U.S., that all tribes are the same. The truth is far more complex and the tribes vary according to geography, historical experiences, and contemporary needs. Here is a map of Maori tribes c. 1870.

While in Wellington, we visited two fantastic resources that I haven't had a chance to mention yet . The National Library of New Zealand has a large digital collection and many materials accessible online for teachers. The New Zealand Film Archive strives to collect all film recorded in New Zealand and makes it available for teachers in country. It also has short films and other interesting articles and exhibits online.