Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori language term that means "absolute sovereignty." Sovereignty means absolute power to rule something without someone else interfering. In this case, it refers to the ability of the Māori people (the indigenous people of New Zealand) to rule themselves and be recognized as the owners of the land. ""Tino rangatiratanga"" shows up in the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi, which they signed with the British in 1840. They were promised that they would have "tino rangatiratanga" forever in the treaty. However, this concept was not respected since the British colonizers took a lot of things from the Māori people. To this day, people in New Zealand do not agree on what ""tino rangatiratanga"" means or what kind of things it is supposed to cover.