More than 15k Māori and Moriori cultural heritage items may be in overseas museums and universities
Māpuna
Photo:
All rights Reserved https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about/media-sales-and-licensing
The Kaihautū of Te Papa says there could be well over 15,000 pieces of Māori and Moriori cultural heritage in overseas museums and universities.
Arapata Hakiwai, who's been at Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington since it opened in 1998, told Māpuna his work with the museum began with an order from academic
Sir Hirini Moko Mead.
"He actually said 'Arapata you should go teaching' so I went teaching at Wellington High and he said 'you must go and work for the national museum'. It was very new to me but I found very quickly within the first year or so I was thrown well and truly into the deep end."
Hakiwai said he soon realised the museum was outdated and needed to change.
"Māori and Moriori ancestors, hundreds, thousands of them were taken, traded, swapped, exchanged, sold to other museums and knowing that our museum was implicitly involved in that at the highest levels."
He went on to do research on the number of pieces of Māori and Moriori cultural heritage held in overseas museums and universities.
"It's well over the 15, 16 thousand... and this is just a conservative figure because these figures now would be absolutely updated, there's well over 33 museums in the United States, well over 30 museums in the UK that hold Māori taonga and many of them hold large numbers. The Field Museum hold probably one of the largest, over two and a half thousand Māori taonga."
The reality is a large percentage of indigenous cultural heritage is held offshore and a large percentage of that comes from an early period and that heritage should be connected back to Māori and Moriori people, Hakiwai said.
"The sad reality is over 95 percent wouldn't know off that, wouldn't be aware of the extent of that or where their taonga are, or who have them."
This information should be available to Māori and Moriori as matter of right not privilege, he said.
Sir Hirini would often say that there are many unique taonga held overseas that we don't have equivalent to back in New Zealand, Hakiwai said. Such as
Te Rā
in the British Museum
The Karanga Aotearoa repatriation programme began in 2003 with a sole focus on tīpuna koiwi or human remains. Hakiwai said many museums throughout the world have agreed to return the tīpuna, a huge change from when the programme started.
Many museums in the international community of museums are realising the old practice of 'amassing treasures' can't continue, he said, but there are still museums who keep acquiring.
The
1984 Te Māori exhibition
has had a huge impact and legacy for the relationships between Māori and overseas museums, he said.
"If you take Chicago at the Field Museum, the Field Museum was the last venue of Te Māori and what followed from Te Māori was the restoration of Ruatepupuke, what followed from Te Māori was you had a delegation of staff who traveled over to Tokomaru Bay to say that 'we would like to do something with respect to Ruatepupuke.'"
The 19th century wharenui Ruatepupuke originally built in 1881 in Tokomaru Bay now at the Field Museum in Chicago by way of Frankfurt in Germany offers a unique example in to how museums can build partnerships with indigenous people.
Maori Meeting House, Ruatepupuke II - Field Museum of Natural History Chicago
Photo:
Joyofmuseums
Hakiwai was involved in the restoration of the wharenui in the 1990s after elders from Tokomaru visited him in Wellington.
"They said 'our tīpuna whare is over there but it's unclothed, we need to re-clothe it, it's lonely, it's naked and we want to rectify that'."
Initially he believed the project would culminate with the whare's repatriation, but his elders told him "Arapata kia tau te mauri, settle down." They wanted to work with the Field Museum to "reclothe" the whare tūpuna, and it remains in Chicago to this day one of the very few wharenui outside Aotearoa.
Hakiwai said he believes museums can have a higher purpose in society by helping to support and uplift the foundations of culture and identity.
Even if that means it is time for some of taonga within the collections of Te Papa to return home.
"If that is the desire of iwi, hapū and whānau for their taonga to be returned and homed we will work with them to achieve those ends... Having taonga back in their community, in their whenua amongst their people, elevating the histories and their mana and significance surely that's something far greater than taonga sitting on a shelf," he said.
It's part of reconciling what can a museum be rather than blindly following what museums are now, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Using pests to catch pests: Ferrets enlisted in Queenstown rabbit fight
A ferret dressed in a special tracking collar, ready to be sent down a warren. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd A team of tamed ferrets has been making short work of a long-eared problem in the battle against Queenstown's rampant rabbit population. The mustelids are part of an unusual pest control operation run by Jim Curry and his partner Jacqui Elson, who believe the best way to fight an introduced pest is with another. Earlier this week, star ferret Oprah Winfrey took the lead to flush out a warren at a vacant property in Lower Shotover, as detection dogs waited at the ready to catch runaways. Curry said the premise was simple - fences up, ferret in and "hopefully we'll watch the fireworks as rabbits come flying out both sides". Over two days of methodical work, the ferrets managed to flush out more than 100 rabbits, which were quickly dispatched with a break of the neck. Elson said it was just another job in what had become a near non-stop string of requests since relocating their business 'Jim's Bunny Hunters' to Queenstown. She said they took on work across farms, lifestyle blocks and commercial sites, often booked by curious locals who had seen their rabbit-laden ute. "They'll stop and follow us into like petrol station or cafe or something, because they've seen what we've got on the ute. People will literally stalk you into a petrol station saying 'I saw your licence plate. We need you,'" she said. Curry said school pick-ups were especially time-consuming because of the ferrets' popularity - and trips around the country often garnered a lot of attention. "We're the only people licensed to transport ferrets all around New Zealand, between islands, which gets you some interesting look on the ferries," he said. As the ferrets flush out the warrens, rabbits emerge into a fenced-off area where they're caught by detection dogs. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Each of the ferrets was caught from the wild, mostly by Curry. They could not be imported or bred because ferrets are classified as an "unwanted organism" under the Biosecurity Act. While Curry and Elson were not the only ferreters in the region, they had special MPI approval to keep more than the usual limit of three ferrets. Elson said the ferrets were highly effective hunters and were a safer alternative to poison. On a recent job, she said their results eclipsed those of professional shooters. "The commercial shooters were getting, I think they said about 900, 1000 in a year, and we got about that, including young ones, in three-and-a-half days," she said. "They were getting predominantly males, whereas because we're using the ferrets to get into the holes, we're getting predominantly females with young as well. So it's more efficient, makes a huge difference," she said. Jim Curry grew up in the UK and said ferrets had been a "lifelong obsession". Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Elson said they made the most of each rabbit caught. "We can use an introduced pest, to then catch other introduced pests and then use the rabbits to give back to wildlife rescues for hawks and falcons, little owls, or other zoos. Whatever else isn't fed to our animals then goes to trapping programmes for wild cats, other ferrets, stoats, rats," she said. After each hunt, Elson and Curry filled in the rabbit holes to make sure the area was clear, then if any rabbits remained they would return under the cover of darkness for shooting. Curry said often the most challenging part of the operation was coaxing the ferrets back out, which were known to linger obstinately underground, despite wearing special tracking collars. "The stubborn ones can take a bit of work to get out," he said. Ferrets have been a lifelong obsession for Curry, who grew up in the UK. "I'd been reading all the Farmer's Weekly magazines and various hunting magazines and books and things about ferreting for years. I always wanted to do it, but I didn't have the money or the knowledge or the land," he said. Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Jacinda Ardern waiting to be deployed for work. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Seven years ago in Darfield, someone posted on Facebook about a chicken killer and Curry retrieved the culprit - a ferret he dubbed Colin Farrell. Two more followed and soon Curry was not just rescuing ferrets but putting them to work. "I just went 'right, sod this, I've always wanted to do it'. I ordered some trackers and then ordered purse nets from the UK. It basically started with me knocking on people's doors saying 'hi, I see you've got some rabbits. Can I come and catch them?'" he said. The pair began in Canterbury but Elson said it was a no-brainer when the opportunity arose to shift to rabbit-plagued Queenstown. Curry said the ferret flock had expanded to a star-studded line-up over time. "We have Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Jacinda Ardern, an R Kelly, a P Diddy and a Drake. And then we have a Joe Biden," he said. Jim Curry says they are the only people licensed to transport ferrets all around New Zealand. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Otago Regional Council (ORC) considered rabbits one of the area's worst pests, posing a serious threat to the local biodiversity, the environment and economy. Southern Lakes Sanctuary chief executive Paul Kavanagh said they were known to let other predators thrive and tore up land and ate fertile grass, with 10 rabbits devouring the equivalent of one sheep's requirements. "In many of our ecosystems in central Otago, predator numbers are controlled by food availability. So where we get a lot of rabbits, we in turn get a lot of feral cats, stoats, ferrets, weasels," he said. He described the region's rabbit numbers as "relatively out of control". "Anecdotally, we've heard it's getting worse in some areas, especially Cromwell, places like that," he said. In 2023 the ORC discovered rabbit densities of up to 16 rabbits per square kilometre in some parts of Otago. The council said it was undertaking further rabbit night counts across the region and expected to have updated population estimates soon. Staff regularly carried out inspections across the region to identify rabbit hotspots and had helped to develop five "community rabbit management programmes" across the region, the council said. The ORC said it could help landowners tackle their rabbit problem but ultimately it was the landowners or occupiers responsibility to manage the problem. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Newsroom
10 hours ago
- Newsroom
Millions at risk as museum's Māori treasures off-limits
Auckland Museum's famed Māori court could be closed through 2026 amid complex efforts to remove asbestos dust, with millions lost in revenues from overseas tourists. The museum was totally closed for 24 days in May after the asbestos risk was identified, and has reopened but with the Māori hall and many other popular exhibition areas, including the Hall of Memories, NZ at War and volcanoes zones, remaining off limits. The Māori taonga held by the museum are its biggest visitor attractions and, despite halving international visitor entrance fees, the institution is seeing tourists declining to enter when the closure is made known. Exhibits in the hall are covered, a centrepiece woven sail for a waka which is believed to be one of a kind has already been removed and will be returned to the British Museum, and the entrance lobby resembles an industrial site, requiring PPE gear to enter. Other galleries at the northern end of the museum on three floors are also being checked and cleared, and are due to reopen in October. Museum chief executive David Reeves briefed Auckland councillors on Thursday, saying the problem asbestos was dust left in the curved ceilings after previous remedial work in the late1980s-early 1990s but it was near vents and could be disturbed by fans, for example, during fire alarms. The dust was in extraordinarily difficult spaces because of the ceilings' arched shape and the value of taonga items beneath them, and most likely would have to be accessed by removing ceiling panels over the next year. The museum ceilings hold asbestos dust left there during a previous remedial project in the 1980s/90s. Photo: Auckland Museum 'The risk must be dealt with. Once you know about it you can't just look the other way.' He said 2000 air tests had been completed since the problem was discovered in May and none had shown risk to staff, volunteers or visitors in the areas now open. While the May closure for 24 days, costing half a million dollars, had been well publicised, the partial reopening had not been quite as well known. 'We are also seeing a degree of hesitation from the public to return. 'We've built into this year's revised budget a $2m drop in tourism income because of the loss of the Māori court availability. We are offering international tourists half price because the value is simply not there. 'When we briefly had it at full price the pushback was so enormous, we took the option of half price. Even then, we are seeing tourists turn away, which is sad. 'It's a serious dent in our revenue.' The Māori court was full of priceless taonga, Reeves said. 'We need to decant the gallery, we need to get in there and seal and remove all the asbestos.' That would take 'at least a year to be dealt with' and then the museum would need to decide whether to take the opportunity of 'a complete rejuvenation of the galleries' for its centenary in 2029. The museum was looking at making an insurance claim to offset some of its lost revenues and costs. Floor plans showing the areas in light red that remain closed due to the asbestos risk. In the meantime, executives were planning ways to make additional Māori and Pasifika content available in other parts of the facility to meet the strong demand and 'to bring back some of the attraction of the museum. I don't think we will get back to normal.' The museum's financial challenges prompted the Mayor, Wayne Brown, to urge its board to slap a $5 entry fee across the board. 'You've got nearly a million visitors. $5 a head is $5m. Ninety-nine percent of [visitors] love you and you might only drop to 95 percent. A lot of ratepayers will love you too.' Brown said the council was the biggest funder of the museum by a long way. 'Is it time you put $5 on everybody going in? I find it unbelievable you are so hesitant to do what's screamingly obvious. I just want you to open your minds. 'Things that are free are over-subscribed and under-appreciated. That's just a rule of the world.' Later in the briefing, Reeves told a councillor, Lotu Fuli, that the board had several times looked at a charging regime, benchmarking against Australian museums, but concluded there would be a 'fairly significant reduction in local visitors to the museum.' That would impact revenues raised in the museum café and carparking. 'Our net outcome is better … free at door for Aucklanders, paid entry for overseas tourists and inviting non-Auckland New Zealanders to make a donation. We do believe that we've got the mix about right.' There is one bright spot for Auckland Museum. Last year it was surprised to learn of a $7.6m bequest that was the result of a brother and sister's will 10 years ago. They had wanted their money to first cover other commitments and the balance then to go to the museum. Reeves: 'It was a very good day at work. We were unaware of it until about a year ago, and it's for the future development of the museum.' An endowment fund had been created. 'We hope to use it for positive development of the museum, rather than run-of-the-mill.' That meant it would not be used to cover the asbestos remedial works. 'We think it sends a really good signal for those who might be considering an endowment fund that would be used for developmental work.' One councillor wondered if an option for seeking financial help for the asbestos project would be to include the museum's needs in the proposed Auckland City Deal with central government. The deal proposal did not cater for such spending. But Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, who leads a group overseeing the city's cultural facilities, said there had been discussions with the Arts and Culture Minister Paul Goldsmith about 'the role of the Government and the museum' and cultural institutions. The meeting heard Te Papa in Wellington received central government funding but Auckland relied on ratepayers and its own income. Councillor Wayne Walker said that was inequitable, as Auckland had more visitors, local and international, than Te Papa. Auckland Council provided $34m, commercial operations about $4.5m and entrance fees $3.2m of the museum's annual revenue in 2024/25.
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
The Panel with Holly Bennett and Tim Batt Part 2
local council about 1 hour ago The Panel talks to safety campaigner Geoff Upson who says there are too many speed humps in Manuwera and the town risks being known as "hump town". They then pay homage to the national treasure that is the Taranaki Star. The community newspaper delivers its last print edition today after 145 years of service - we talk to Cliff Hunt who worked at the paper for 47 years.
