Firstly, Ngāti Waewae is the hapū - the people connected through whakapapa, tikanga, history and responsibility. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae is the legal and governance entity that represents and supports the hapū.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae are one of the Papatipu Rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi of Te Waipounamu, the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.

A Papatipu Rūnanga is a local tribal council that represents whānau who hold ancestral rights and responsibilities within a particular area. For Ngāti Waewae, that area is the northern part of Te Tai o Poutini, the West Coast of the South Island.

Ngāti Waewae holds mana whenua from Kahurangi Point in the north to the northern bank of the Hokitika River. South of Hokitika, Ngāti Waewae shares interests with Ngāti Māhaki / Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio between the southern bank of the Hokitika River and the northern bank of the Pouerua River.

Mana whenua means inherited cultural authority, connection and responsibility. It does not mean private ownership of every home, road, farm, beach or business in the area. It means Ngāti Waewae has a recognised ancestral relationship with this place through whakapapa, genealogy, occupation, history, tikanga Māori values and cultural practices, and care for the whenua, land.

This relationship existed long before councils, private titles, roads, towns and modern government systems were established on the West Coast. By the time of first European contact in the early 1800s, Ngāti Waewae were already recognised as having authority over much of the West Coast and became known as part of Poutini Ngāi Tahu - Ngāi Tahu of the West Coast.

Today, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae is the recognised representative body for Ngāti Waewae whānau. Incorporated in 1991, the rūnanga continues to uphold the mana, identity, aspirations and responsibilities of Ngāti Waewae now and for future generations.