After the wars, Maori continued to lose their land through the operation of the Native Land Court. Maori in politics have competed to preserve their land, assert their treaty rights, fight assimilation, and above all assert their "Maoritanga," the identity of their language, culture, and tribal cohesion. The language came to Aotearoa, Maori for New Zealand, with the Polynesian migrations about one thousand years ago, which most likely began in the area now known as the French Polynesia. Since then, the language developed independently of other Polynesian tongues. New Zealand Maori is most…
