New Zealand settles century old Maori grievance

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Maori clad in traditional cloaks chanted and sang on Tuesday as the New Zealand government paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle century old grievances.

Hundreds of members from a group of tribes traveled to witness the government and tribal leaders sign an agreement worth more than NZ$400 million ($303 million) in land and cash.

"With the transfer of the majority of the forests held by the Crown in the region to the seven iwi, or tribes, represented in the collective, a nearly half-billion dollar asset base will finally be utilized in the interests of local Maori," Treaty Negotiations Minister Michael Cullen said.

Seven iwi, with more 100,000 members, will be given ownership of nine forests covering 176,000 hectares (435,000 acres) in the central North Island, and accumulated rents. The land will also give the group around $13 million a year in rents.

The forests are mainly large-scale commercial plantations of pine operated by major forestry companies.

One of the tribal leaders said the settlement would see Maori build a partnership on important social, economic and environmental issues.

"By signing this settlement today we are also signaling our intention to be a positive and inextricable part of the New Zealand community," said Tumu Te Heu Heu of the Ngati Tuwharetoa tribe.

The deal, the largest single deal between the New Zealand government and Maori, settled claims that the Maori were victims of illegal land seizures and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Treaty, signed in 1840, guaranteed the indigenous Maori people, the use of their land and resources in return for the British Crown taking control.

However, some Maori tribes waged armed resistance against colonial and settler incursions in the 1860-1870s, resulting in land confiscations and imprisonment.

Governments have also been accused of failing to abide by the Treaty, causing Maori to lose their land, use of resources, and language.

Since 1975 Maori have been able to lodge claims to reclaim lost land or gain redress for past grievances, which has seen several large land settlements.

Past settlements have seen tribes regain ownership of large areas of the South Island, including the country's highest mountain Mt Cook, and the central North Island, as well as formal apologies for wrongdoings.

Maori make up around 15 percent of New Zealand's 4.2 million population, but languish at the bottom of most social indicators, such as life expectancy, income, employment and educational attainment.

(Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by David Fox)