In 2013, leaders of the North Island iwi Ngāi Tūhoe signed an historic agreement with the Crown that promises to end a century and a half of injustice, animosity and mistrust. At the heart of the settlement is control of the mountainous region known as Te Urewera, the vital core of Tūhoe aspiration and identity.

Tūhoe: Portrait of a Nation explores the relationship between Tūhoe and Te Urewera, the people and the land. It is the result of a multi-year project by acclaimed documentary photographer Peter James Quinn and Kennedy Warne, founding editor of New Zealand Geographic. The two journalists circled the ‘encircled lands’ – the tribal domain that stretches from the forest fortress of Lake Waikaremoana to the coastal valleys of the Bay of Plenty – and collected the stories of Tūhoe. From tribal leaders to possum hunters, traditional healers to tourism operators, Tūhoe shared their words, their culture and their lives.