An eastern Bay of Plenty iwi will soon vote whether to receive a $100 million settlement package from the Crown, a settlement decades in the making.
Te Whakatōhea is made up of six hapū in the region and centred around Ōpōtiki but extending eastwards from Ohiwa Harbour to Opape along the coastline, and inland to Matawai.
The iwi was initially offered a settlement of $40m in 1996 but rejected it. The settlement aims to address historical raupatu (land confiscation) claims.
Whakatōhea Pre Settlement Claims Trust chairman, Graeme Riesterer said the time was now for Whakatōhea whānau to have their say and decide on the future of the iwi.
"It has taken five years to get from the signing of an Agreement in Principle in 2017, to the initialling of a Deed of Settlement in 2021, and now we are giving our whānau the chance to accept the Settlement package that has been negotiated with the Crown," Riesterer said.