Māori << MOW ree or MAH ree >> are a Polynesian people of New Zealand. They were the first people to live in what is now that country. Today, they make up about 15 percent of New Zealand’s population.
Most scholars believe Māori first settled New Zealand around A.D. 1200. According to Māori tradition, however, they began arriving more than 1,800 years ago. Māori made a living by fishing and hunting and also by growing crops. By the 1700’s, all of New Zealand was under Māori control. Individual Māori belong to one or more Māori groups, though most no longer live in their group’s traditional territory.
Europeans started arriving in New Zealand in the late 1700’s. In 1840, Māori and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Waitangi. It gave the United Kingdom the right to govern New Zealand, and the British the right to live there. It guaranteed Māori ownership and control of all their lands, forests, fish, and waters. It also granted them all the rights and privileges of British citizens.
The early British immigrants did not respect the treaty and by 1900 had taken almost everything from Māori. In the early 1900’s, a group of young, university-educated Māori in New Zealand’s Parliament started changing the way Māori were treated. In 1975, Parliament set up a tribunal to investigate violations of the Treaty of Waitangi. The tribunal has recommended the return of much land and other resources to Māori.
On the whole, Māori are poorer than other New Zealanders. Most live in cities. Many return to their ancestral territories for birthdays, weddings, and funerals, or to help make decisions affecting their group. These events occur on marae << muh RY >>, traditional Māori meeting places. There, they pass down their oral history, arts, laws, technology, and other cultural traditions. Māori speak English, and some speak the Māori language as well. Through the years, many have married people of European ancestry.
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