Tuhoe says its upcoming treaty settlement is critical for the welfare of its people - after the Crown's failure to deliver health services in Te Urewera over the past century.
A social services plan will be part of the agreement, which is due to be signed next year.
Under mana motuhake, the Government will help the tribe deliver its own health, housing and education services.
In a wide-ranging interview on Nine to Noon, Tuhoe chief negotiator, Tamati Kruger, told the programme the settlement will lead to self-determination.
He says that in 100 years of public health in New Zealand, the Crown has not provided a health service in Te Urewera.
Mr Kruger says they've decided to deliver heath programmes themselves, rather than wait for someone in Government to decide there should be health services in their tribal lands.
