The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act (1989) heralded family group conferences as an innovative mechanism to reinforce the role of family in child welfare decision making. While many have regarded family group conferences as a culturally appropriate response, others have argued that continued managerialism reflects a guise of cultural responsiveness that has actively disempowered whānau (wider whānau) and the young person in decision-making processes. Similar to concerns that led to the formation of the 1989 Act, institutional racism inspired Rangitāne o Wairarapa (Rangitāne) to reclaim the family group conference process and child welfare decision making as an Iwi (tribal) function. The current study reports on the development of a family group conference practice model of one Iwi (Rangitāne) as a case study of cultural reclamation. The success of the approach is juxtaposed against the Iwi practice model, critical success factors, and opportunities for the development of such practice models across Aotearoa New Zealand.