[DrTiTus]

I've never been given a Maori scholarship, but I'm officially Maori according to the electoral roll, and never had to go into detail or provide a family tree. Tick, write "Ngapuhi". Done. Probably just declared at birth or some tick along the way that stayed with me.

A general scholarship is a bit of a weird case - they can discriminate because it's some private individual's endowment with their own wishes that are respected by the executor of the scholarship fund. You can say it's money reserved only for women over 40, or white men with a single parent, or disabled people, or great athletes, and these are all OK. No one is entitled to a scholarship.

Maori scholarships I imagine are funded by iwi, so it's really up to them to decide. You can't argue that you are entitled to free money, and I doubt there is much oversight. If they're happy to give it out, then by all means lie. If they challenge you, be prepared to get bummed out.