Now he joins the likes of Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, who was knighted in 2011, and the late Sir Turi Carroll, knighted in 1962 - thought to be the two most recently-knighted of Kahungunu descent.
"It's certainly an honour," he tells Hawke's Bay Today this week. "I'm a happy boy. I had the family around last night, and we were a couple of hours past curfew."
He says Pakeha may call him "Sir" but Maori were more likely to opt for the te reo version of "Ta".
Ta Pita's formative years in Hawke's Bay, including his education at Takapau Primary School, Waipukurau District High School and Te Aute College, have had a lasting effect on him.
"I really can't say how much Te Aute [College] influenced me. Really, it was the most influential thing in my life. It's a Maori school basically - it's where I learned te teo.
"My emphasis has been the renaissance of Maori to full standing in the community - for Maori to have our own language and values, but also to get Maori and Pakeha closer together."
The Young Maori Party, established in 1902, which was dedicated to improving the position of Maori, grew out of the Te Aute Students Association, started by former students of the college. Old boys of Te Aute who were associated with the Young Maori Party included Sir Apirana Ngata, who had served as inspiration for Ta Pita in his rich career as an academic and politician.
Graduating from the college, he felt a yearning to head north and attended the University of Auckland, studying education.
"Traditionally, students from the coast go to Victoria - for some reason I had it in my head to go to Auckland."
He remained at the university for several years as an instructor, working at the Faculty of Education. He subsequently gained an MA (first class) in Anthropology, and later a PhD in anthropology and linguistics - both also from the University of Auckland. "I was given the option of studying archaeology or linguistics. Being ignorant and superstitious, I didn't want to dig up bones and stones, so I did languages."
His language studies, focused on Noam Chomsky's concept of transformational grammar, led him as far afield as the Solomon Islands. In addition to his academic work, he has long advocated a separate Maori political party. He says the movement that eventually snowballed into the modern Maori Party began in Hawke's Bay.
At a Ngati Kahungunu committee meeting in 2003, it was decided a hikoi opposing the Foreshore and Seabed bill would travel the length of the North Island. The bill, proposed by the then-Labour government, had threatened to prevent Maori from exercising due process. "We moved we'd call a march to Parliament, with a bucket of sand each, and tip it on their steps," he recalls.
The 13-day hikoi had mobilised some 15,000 supporters by the time it reached Wellington, after starting in Northland and staying in marae along the way. It made a historical impact on New Zealand race relations. "It was then we decided we should form a Maori party."
Joining forces with Tariana Turia, who had resigned from the Labour Party in opposition of the bill, they formed the Maori Party, with Ta Pita as co-leader in 2004.
In 2005, he contested the urban Auckland seat of Tamaki Makaurau and won.
He says it was his tenure as Minister of Maori affairs, which began after he was re-elected in 2008, which has been the highlight of his political career. In this role, Ta Pita facilitated unprecedented hui between ministers and iwi leaders, travelling all over the country and racking up a travel bill which, he jokes, was sometimes higher than the Prime Minister's. The new discourse between iwi and the Crown was in stark contrast with prior decades. "In the 1980s, the government took no notice of iwi. People don't believe that in 1980 very few parliamentarians knew the names of two or three tribes - now, they know 73."
He resigned as co-leader of the Maori Party in 2013, and retired from Parliament last year. "I'd tired of the tussle of debate - it gets personal sometimes. I loved ministerial work, but in terms of the debate in the house, nine years was enough for me."
Based in West Auckland, Ta Pita plans to continue working in race relations, which may include teaching Maori etiquette to Auckland businesses, with regular visits to Hawke's Bay.
He said he wanted to see more te teo language initiatives, as they had the ability to empower Maori. "If people respect our language they will learn it, for good reasons, and that will do so much to cement our people."
Formally now a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM), and having 25 years ago been honoured with a CBE for services to Maori, he is recognised for further such services and for his nine years as a Member of Parliament. He is one of seven to be honoured as knight or dame. In 1988, he was founding chairman of iwi structure Te Runanganui o Ngati Kahungunu, forerunner of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, which was formed in 1997.
