Land Alienation at Waikeremoana

In the heart of the North Island of New Zealand lies the mountainous territory ofTe Urewera, the spiritual homeland of the Tahoe people. Hidden away in the southern portion of Te Urewera is Waikaremoana - The Sea of Rippling Waters, a lake and a land with a history and tradition that are as fascinating as they are controversial. Waikaremoana is the footstool of the Ngati Ruapani section of Tahoe. This paper begins with a brief discussion of the landscape of Waikaremoana and its early tribal traditions. A systematic analysis ofthe social, political and economic effects of land alienation upon the tangata whenua of the Waikaremoana area is applied. The effects of Crown policies for Maori land, last century, and how the process was replicated throughout Aotearoa is assessed.