Ngapuhi kuia Titewhai Harawira is urging the iwi to forget about the Waitangi Tribunal and negotiate a Treaty settlement directly with the Crown.
Mrs Harawira is a member of Tuhoronuku, a runanga-led board that's seeking a mandate to settle the massive Ngapuhi claim.
At a mandating hui at Piki Te Aroha marae near Okaihau on Thursday, Mrs Harawira said the Waitangi Tribunal is making lawyers rich but has no power to put things right for Maori claimants.
Many hapu in the north want to go ahead with more tribunal hearings next year, before any negotiations.
Mrs Harawira says she used to support that idea, but now believes it would be better to deal directly with the real power brokers, the Government.
She says there are other ways for claimants to tell the stories of past injustice and have them preserved for posterity.
