Abstract
Aotearoa New Zealand is a country in the Pacific and is home to a rich tapestry of cultures and ethnicities, shaped by centuries of Indigenous presence and successive waves of migration. The Indigenous people of Aotearoa are Māori, whose deep cultural, historical, and genealogical roots are increasingly intersecting with those of diverse Pacific communities. As a result, a growing number of whānau Māori now identify with one or more Pacific Island ethnicities, such as Tongan or Samoan.