Kāi Tahu / Ngāi Tahu

If you are Ngāi Tahu and DNA-tested, please join!
  • 9 members
Administrators
  • Hananui Watson
Co-Administrators
  • Donna Bridgeman
General Fund
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About us

Kāi Tahu's eponymous tipuna is Tahupōtiki.

The purpose of this research group is for DNA testers of Kāi Tahu heritage to gather in a safe place and comprehensively discuss DNA results and whakapapa. It is a community-led research group with custodians, not leaders 

The Donate button on the left does not work for New Zealand residents. In an email dated 14 October, FamilyTreeDNA told us to use this Docusign link instead.

Public notice: Could those descendants of the Robinson James Clough family who have done DNA testing please transfer their results to FamilyTreeDNA and into this project specifically.

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As outlined in the Group Project Administrator Terms & Policies, project administators and co-administrators are such under a volunteer capacity and do not have the legal rights, responsibilities, or liabilities of employees or contractors working for FamilyTreeDNA. Likewise, they are not professionally associated with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu or any similar entity. The project is entirely whānau-led.

Per the Code of Conduct, individual DNA results and discussions from within the group must never leave the group (including in screenshot form) without express individual consent of all affected members, including administrators.

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The below section was moved from the FAQ page in an attempt for increased transparency.

Concerns around DNA misuse, privacy, and tikanga breaches

(Inspired by the works of Karaitiana Taiuru – Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Toa)

These are fair concerns. DNA is powerful – it carries whakapapa. AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and 23andMe are all American-based. That means samples and raw results are subject to U.S. law, not ours. MyHeritage is Israeli; LivingDNA is British. We can’t guarantee what any of them might do in the future. That said though, some potential privacy risks—like data being discreetly given to third parties for profiling, advertising, or algorithmic targeting—aren't so different to what already happens with services like Facebook or Gmail.

Review the 2015 "Genetic Genealogy Standards" and the "FamilyTreeDNA Terms"; Ancestry's are: "Ancestry Terms and Conditions" and "Privacy Statement". Samples and raw data can be deleted from both if circumstances change.

As for tikanga, our own project had a slow and somewhat frustrating start. Our initial applications were declined due to perceived "overlap" with a broader Māori DNA project. Thankfully, a second reviewer, with input from anonymous administrators, took a broader view and approved it. We share this not to criticise the host site, but to show honestly how our worldviews can clash with overseas systems that don’t always grasp the nuance or depth of te ao Māori. This is the first iwi-specific research project on FamilyTreeDNA, and getting here took persistence.


  1. (6 Jun 2017). "Dangerous game of DNA testing for Maori". Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)
  2. (11 Feb 2019). "DNA is a Taonga: A Customary Māori Perspective". Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)
  3. (2021). Māori genetic data: Inalienable rights and tikanga sovereignty: A thesis presented to Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. Doctoral thesis, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. 
  4. (20 May 2022). "Indigenising DNA". Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)
  5. (1 Nov 2024). "Te Ao Māori perspective of Privacy with DNA". Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)
Some infamous privacy breaches are because of the FBI, so their operations in our country have negative implications for genetic genealogists. The "Say No to the FBI in Aotearoa" petition provides background on the cultural and legal stakes of the FBI's involvement in our country, and invites New Zealanders to act.


On the other hand...

The project itself is whānau-led and whakapapa-focused. Persons with results already in the FamilyTreeDNA system are at no additional risk by joining DNA projects. "Should I Join A Group Project?"

There's no social licence (or scientific means) to "resurrect" tīpuna (compare "de-extincting" the moa). DNA can serve to expose whakapapa pretenders, but nowadays a simple investigation of kinlore is usually enough to disprove fraudulent (or good-natured but misinformed) claims. A lot of resources are available for this.

There are some situations where DNA testing for genealogical purposes is the only tool left for someone trying to reconnect with their whakapapa — especially when records are missing or family knowledge has been lost. But these results only become meaningful if others with known whakapapa have already tested and are cooperative. Even those most critical of DNA testing tend to acknowledge that much.

If you're really unsure, and your only reason to buy is "I wanna see my ethnicity percentages," then you probably shouldn't.


Aroha and respect to Dr Taiuru—his mahi is important. He also maintains the Ngāi Tahu Pepeha Resources website.

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As far as FamilyTreeDNA projects go, this one should serve as the base for research on subsumed iwi identities including Kāti Māmoe, Kāti Wairaki, Waitaha (Te Waipounamu), Hawea, Rapuwai, and other pre-Kāi Tahu groups of Te Waipounamu until there is need for a second project.

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Notice of correction:
Previously, our public-facing pages (e.g., this 'Background' one) claimed that "[Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu] do accept DNA testing as supporting evidence," which is not the case when it comes to genealogical testing products offered by various companies. They do, however, accept paternity testing as evidence. Sincere and genuine apologies for confusion and inconvenience that this may have caused. — Watson, 24 Jan 2026.