I te tau 1899, ka puta te kōrero a Tā Āpirana Ngata mō Ngāti Awa:
‘He iwi mate a Ngāti Awa, nā runga i ngā whakawhiu o te ture, …. ka tangi ahau mō rātou e pēhia kinohia e te kāwanatanga’.
Te waihanga anō i te iwi
I ngā tau tōmuri o te rau tau 1900 ka tīmata ngā rangatira o Ngāti Awa ki te waihanga anō i te iwi; kāore he āwhina i puta ki a rātou. I rerekē a Ngāti Awa ki ētahi atu iwi, kāore ana poari kaitiaki, kāore he ara mō rātou e tarea ai te whātoro ki ngā rawa a te kāwanatanga. Hāunga, ka ngana tonu rātou kia puta he hua. Whāia, ka whakatūria he manatū mō te iwi, ko Te Poari o Ngāti Awa tērā, nō muri ka matika ake ko Te Rūnanga-o-Ngāti Awa. He reo irirangi tō Ngāti Awa, ko Te Reo Irirangi-o-Te Mānuka Tūtahi; he whare kura tuatoru tō te iwi, ko Te Whare Wānanga-o-Awanuiarangi. Kua tahuri a Ngāti Awa ki te whakahōu i a Mataatua wharenui, he taonga whakahirahira i kāhakina i te tau 1878. Nō te tau 1996 rā anō whakahokia mai ai ki te iwi.
He tirohanga whakamua
E 22 ngā hapū o Ngāti Awa, e 19 ōna marae, e 17,000 te tokomaha kua rēhita ki raro i Te Rūnanga-o-Ngāti Awa. Ko te aronga o te iwi mai i te tau 1867, ko te whai paremata mō te raupatu o ōna whenua. I te tekau tau atu i 1990, he nui ngā mahi i tutuki me Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te whakaea i ngā kerēme a te iwi. Nō te tau 1999 ka puta te pūrongo a te taraipiunara, te Ngāti Awa Raupatu Report, ā, nō te tau 2003 ka tutuki te whakataunga. Kia ea rā anō ngā whakamau katoa, kātahi anō ka rite te kupu ōhākī a Te Mautaranui, te rangatira o Ngāti Awa me Ngāi Tūhoe:
He manu hōu ahau, he pī ka rere.
