This paper will examine the experience of war for the Maori in the twentieth century (e.g. two World Wars, the Vietnam War) as having liberating effects, partly because it relieved them of the burden of their ancestry and its obligations, but paradoxically also disorienting effects, creating new problems upon their return home. The theatre of war, along with the football field, is where the Maori has gained greatest renown, although at considerable cost. Both Ihimaera and Grace represent in different ways the tensions between the ethos of fighting heroically in imperial causes on foreign soil, and Maori indigenous identity and status within New Zealand. This comparative study will discuss, with reference to these novels, what war means to Maori in a postcolonial, post-millenial society.