The Maori History Curriculum

Even if Maori were the first to arrive –despite much evidence to the contrary – Maori are not in any meaningful sense “indigenous”. The word “indigenous” means “native to an area, since time immemorial”, as the Australian Aborigines are indigenous to Australia. But of course, Maori themselves talk of arriving in New Zealand on canoes, with their spirits departing at death to their original home in Hawaiki.