This BBC documentary depicts early pioneer settlement and the ways in which Governments exploited and alienated Māori. Excerpts from the land occupation and evictions at Bastion Point; November 1983 - an historic event for Eva Rickard and her people when the 63 acres (Raglan Golf Course) was handed back to her people and her continuing struggle to fight for the remaining 25 acres.
Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, Pat Hohepa, wants University land and all former Māori land to be restored to Māori control.
Once Māori owned 66 million acres of land, today less than 1/16 is theirs. Until the 1950s, more than 50% lived in rural areas. With many Māori moving to the cities, small rural settlements of ancient tribal lands were left to deteriorate.
Today on the East Coast where the racial mix is 50/50, a new generation of Māori are realising that they can compete without losing their identity. At hui on marae, Maori are beginning to take up the challenge of dealing with managing their own destiny and to not rely on Pakeha concepts and decisions.