Denver, July 1999. Mike Barns, Tribal Negotiator for the Tuwharetoa Ki Kawerau tribe, and Senior Lecturer at Auckland University, New Zealand (Aotearoa) recently visited the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management to discuss plans for the Institute's intern program.
Mike has been instrumental in establishing the Aotearoa Maori connection with the Institute which recently resulted in the placement of the first Maori intern, Huia Pacey at the Institute.
During his visit Mike briefed Institute staff on the status of the Treaty of Waitangi Grievance Settlement process underway between the Maori tribes and the New Zealand government.
As Tribal Negotiator, Mike has brought the issue of Maori ownership of natural resources to the negotiating table, an issue the New Zealand government was eager to avoid. Current discussion between the tribe and government center around the ownership, management, and restoration of water resources, air quality, geothermal fluids, and ownership of minerals.
Many Maori tribes had their lands confiscated by the British during colonization. The tribes are negotiating with the government for the return of, or compensation for these lands. Mike is studying these and other related issues as possible dissertation topics for his doctoral studies in Indigenous Architecture and Native Landscapes at Auckland University.
Mike also lectures on the Treaty of Waitangi and assists tribes with tribal resource management and development projects.