Social upheaval and epidemics of introduced disease took a devastating toll on the Māori population, which fell dramatically, but began to recover by the beginning of the 20th century.

However, disproportionate numbers of Māori face significant economic and social obstacles, and generally have lower life expectancies and incomes than other New Zealand ethnic groups.

Polynesian people settled a large area encompassing Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Hawaiʻi, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) – and finally New Zealand.

[28] There may have been some exploration and settlement before the eruption of Mount Tarawera (c. 1315), based on finds of bones from Polynesian rats and rat-gnawed shells,[29] and evidence of widespread forest fires in the decade or so prior.

[25] This broadly aligns with analyses from Māori oral traditions, which describe the arrival of ancestors in a number of large ocean-going canoes (waka) as a planned mass migration c. 1350.

[36] Some have speculated that Māori explorers may have been the first humans to discover Antarctica:[37][38][39][40] According to a nineteenth century translation by Stephenson Percy Smith, part of the Rarotongan oral history describes Ui-te-Rangiora, around the year 650, leading a fleet of Waka Tīwai south until they reached, "a place of bitter cold where rock-like structures rose from a solid sea".

[52][53][54][55][56] The Classic period is characterised by finely made pounamu (greenstone) weapons and ornaments, elaborately carved war canoes and wharenui (meeting houses).

[60][61][62] Around the year 1500, a group of Māori migrated east to the Chatham Islands and developed into a people known as the Moriori,[63] with pacifism a key part of their culture.

[73][74] By 1839, estimates placed the number of Europeans living in New Zealand as high as 2,000,[75] and the British Crown acceded to repeated requests from missionaries and some Māori chiefs (rangatira) to intervene.

Some Māori have argued that the settlements occur at a level of between one and two-and-a-half cents on the dollar of the value of the confiscated lands, and do not represent adequate redress.

The movement arose among a group of central North Island iwi in the 1850s as a means of attaining Māori unity to halt the alienation of land at a time of rapid population growth by European colonists.

[105] The movement sought to establish a monarch who could claim status similar to that of Queen Victoria and thus allow Māori to deal with Pākehā (Europeans) on equal footing.

But it was viewed by the colonial government as a challenge to the supremacy of the British monarchy, leading in turn to the 1863 invasion of Waikato, which was partly motivated by a drive to neutralise the Kīngitanga's power and influence.

Following their defeat at Ōrākau in 1864, Kīngitanga forces withdrew into the Ngāti Maniapoto tribal region of the North Island that became known as the King Country.

Various systems also arose aimed to conserve resources; most of these, such as tapu and rāhui, used religious or supernatural threats to discourage people from taking species at particular seasons or from specified areas.

[132] Cultural performance of waiata (song), haka (dance), tauparapara (chants) and mōteatea (poetry) are used by Māori to express and pass on knowledge and understanding about history, communities, and relationships.

Contemporary Māori stage writers, actors and directors include George Henare, Riwia Brown, Hone Kouka, Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty, Briar Grace-Smith, and many others.

[152] Other major films with Māori themes or subjects include Utu (1983), The Piano (1993), Whale Rider (2002), River Queen (2005), Boy (2010), Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) and Muru (2022).

Prominent Māori actors include Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Jemaine Clement, Lawrence Makoare, Miriama Smith, Manu Bennett, Keisha Castle-Hughes, James Rolleston, Rena Owen, Shavaughn Ruakere and Julian Dennison.

In the 2010s Māori actor-director Taika Waititi rose to global fame directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok (2017),[153] and the Academy Award-winning Jojo Rabbit (2019),[154] in which he played Adolf Hitler in a supporting role.

Māori society across New Zealand was broadly stratified into three classes of people: rangatira, chiefs and ruling families; tūtūā, commoners; and mōkai, slaves.

In contrast, warfare developed as an integral part of traditional life, as different groups competed for food and resources, settled personal disputes, and sought to increase their prestige and authority.

[169] Early European settlers introduced tools, weapons, clothing and foods to Māori across New Zealand, in exchange for resources, land and labour.

Nevertheless, Māori groups continued to engage with the government and in legal processes to increase their standing in (and ultimately further their incorporation into) wider New Zealand society.

Yet while standards of living improved among Māori, they continued to lag behind Pākehā in areas such as health, income, skilled employment and access to higher levels of education.

Successive governments have responded by enacting affirmative action programmes, funding cultural rejuvenation initiatives and negotiating tribal settlements for past breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

[181] A 2007 Department of Corrections report found that Māori are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system: "a number of studies have shown evidence of greater likelihood, associated only with ethnicity, for Māori offenders to have police contact, be charged, lack legal representation, not be granted bail, plead guilty, be convicted, be sentenced to non-monetary penalties, and be denied release to Home Detention".

[182] Conversely, critics denounce the scale of assistance given to Māori as amounting to preferential treatment for a select group of people based on race.

Less frequent use of healthcare services mean that late diagnosis and treatment intervention lead to higher levels of morbidity and mortality in many manageable conditions.

The Māori King Movement (Kīngitanga) originated in the 1860s as an attempt by several iwi to unify under one leader; in modern times, it serves a largely ceremonial role.