Tangata Whenua (People of the land)
From the very beginning of their migration to Aotearoa New Zealand, Mäori communities have moved through and around the Tamaki region, grouping and regrouping, according to seasons, natural changes in food supplies, and the vicissitudes of kinship and allegiances. They hunted birds and fish, gathered wild food, and cultivated kumara.
Many descent lines and inter-tribal relationships came into being in this region, and are still alive today in the group who have come to be called Ngäti Whätua o Orakei. These people are recognised as the tangata whenua of Auckland, and are a hapu (subtribe) of the wider NgätiWhätua iwi (tribe) based in Kaipara.
