This paper commissioned by Te Kohinga and the Otamataha Trust is a summary of a one-hundred-and-fifty-page report prepared for various parties, including local hapū, churches, and councils as a discussion document. The aim of the report is to provide an historical and theological framework to undergird the longstanding need for reconciliation between mana whenua and later settlers in the Tauranga district. The author, Dr Alistair Reese, is a Research Affiliate of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago.