A Rangitikei iwi, Ngati Apa, says its shopping mall investment outside of its tribal rohe in Whanganui makes sense because the majority of its people live there.
The iwi, based just south of the river city, received about $15 million in cash from the Crown last year along with forestry blocks as part of their Treaty settlement.
It has invested $2 million of that in Trafalgar Square - the main shopping mall in Whanganui.
Ngati Apa Developments Limited chairman Toko Kapea says his tribe consulted Whanganui iwi before it made its decision.
He says all local tribes are seeking to work together on key projects once all Crown settlements are complete.
He admits there is some apprehension in moving into another tribe's boundaries, but they don't see it as an aggressive move because a big bulk of Ngati Apa people live there and share whakapapa (genealogical links), and it's important they have a stake there.
Mr Kapea says his tribe is now just waiting for their Whanganui river relatives to settle with the Crown so they can collaborate with them as whanau and friends.
