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RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
More than 15k Māori and Moriori cultural heritage items may be in overseas museums and universities
By Māpuna Photo: All rights Reserved 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 Hakiwai said he soon realised the museum was outdated and needed to change.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.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Tommy Solomon statue on Rēkohu - Chatham Islands to be restored
The Tommy Solomon statue on Rēkohu - Chatham Islands. Photo: Supplied Work to restore the statue of the man widely regarded as the last known full-blooded Moriori has begun on Rēkohu - Chatham Islands. The statue of Tame Horomona-Rehe - known as Tommy Solomon - had degraded after standing near Manukau Point for nearly 40 years. Spokesperson Tāne Solomon said the statue commemorated a respected ancestor and honoured more than 800 years of Moriori presence in the region. Tommy Solomon was born in 1884 and was the only surviving child of Rangitapua Horomona Rehe and Ihimaera Te Teira of the Ōwenga and Ōtonga Moriori tribes. He was known for his large physical stature, warm humour, and deep commitment to his community, Tāne Solomon said. His first wife Ada Fowler, (Ngāi Tahu) died and he had five children with his second wife, Ada's niece Whakarawa (Rene) Fowler: Charles Te Teira, Thomas Tūtānekai, Ngāmare, Eric Rangitapua, and Flora. Tommy Solomon died in 1933, aged 49, and was buried at Manukau. The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister David Lange in 1986. Tāne Solomon said the statue was significant in the revival of Moriori culture and identity. "It is also a tribute to all Moriori, a symbol of Moriori resilience showing that we are still here and that will never change," he said. "To work on the statue replacement is a duty and also an honour - we owe this to all of our karapuna (ancestors)." The restoration committee was in the process of selecting a sculptor to undertake the restoration project. It aimed to have the work finished by the 40th anniversary of the unveiling in December next year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
21-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Rēkohu celebrates Matariki and the arrival of Puanga
On Rēkohu, the largest island in the Chatham Islands, Moriori and Ngāti Mutunga will mark the new year celebrations together. Photo: Black Iris Productions On Rēkohu, in the Chatham Islands, traditional practices around Puanga are just one of the traditions being rediscovered. Moriori historically celebrated the star Puanga or Rigel to mark the new year. Hokotehi Moriori Trust chairman Hayden Preece said they are going through a mass rediscovery of their culture and traditions. "There is very little information about our traditions to be honest, one thing that we have found is that people would gather at the rising of Pūanga and they would point a stick with a kopi berry seed tied to the end and they would chant speeches of worship asking for fruitfulness of the kopi tree." The kopi tree - or karaka - was extremely important to Moriori, it was one of the only sources of carbohydrate in their diet so it was a integral to their survival, he said. "Part of the exciting rediscovery is we get to also add to these things. It's in line with most of our Polynesian cultures... to have that connection to the stars and to agriculture." Preece said Moriori operated on a 31 day lunar calendar and had names for every single one of those days, currently they have rediscovered 26. "So we know the first day Whiro is unlucky, avoid planting, fishing, travel, things like that." Next Wednesday students from Te One School on Rēkohu will hold their own hautapu ceremony, which Preece said will create some awareness for the children. Being able to convey that knowledge to the next generation is really important, he said. 95 percent of the population of Moriori have left the island, with only about 80 registered members on the island, he said. "Here on island with our limited population we tend to support and work together with our Ngāti Mutunga counterparts, not much point in trying to duplicate two different ceremonies, so we do a dual ceremony this year. We will look to expand and do our own one possibly next year and moving in to the future, but this year we are just going to support." Preece said he absolutely supports the idea of a national holiday. "It's awesome to see our culture being recognised across the board, our wider Polynesian culture too, it's important to so many people." Preece said he would love to see the national hautapu ceremony on the Chatham Islands one day. "We would welcome that opportunity. We might be a little bit stretched with our logistics and our ability to cater but we are a pretty resilient and resourceful people, we could make it happen. "Me rongo. And have a safe and happy Moriori new year." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Moriori Challenge Crown Over 'Tino Rangatiratanga'
Wellington, 12 June 2025 – The Moriori Imi Settlement Trust (MIST), supported by the Hokotehi Moriori Trust (HMT), has filed proceedings in the High Court at Wellington challenging the Crown's proposal to recognise Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri's (NMOW) tino rangatiratanga over Rēkohu (the Chatham Islands). In 1870, the Native Land Court and colonial government gave 97.3% of all land on the Chatham Islands to NMOW (who arrived on an English sailing ship in only 1835), completely disregarding Moriori custom and the ancient, peaceful occupation of the islands. Instead, they applied the New Zealand Māori custom of take raupatu (claim by conquest). The Waitangi Tribunal found in 2001 that Moriori should have received 'at least 50% of the land' on Rēkohu and that 'redress by far was due to Moriori' (Tribunal recommends compensation for Moriori). Despite this, NMOW have continued to claim exclusive mana whenua and tino rangatiratanga over Rēkohu. Now, the Crown appears ready to repeat these past injustices. When Moriori settled their historic Treaty claims with the Crown in 2020, the Crown gave clear and repeated assurances that it would remain strictly neutral between imi and iwi on matters of mana whenua and tino rangatiratanga over Rēkohu. For this reason, those terms do not appear in the Moriori Deed of Settlement. Moriori Claims Settlement Act 2021: However, in 2022, MIST was formally advised that the Crown intended to include in the NMOW Deed of Settlement an explicit acknowledgement of NMOW's tino rangatiratanga over Rēkohu. This contradicts prior commitments made to Moriori and represents a serious breach of trust and the terms of our own Deed. The Crown maintains this does not amount to recognition of mana whenua —a position strongly rejected by MIST and supported by respected Māori legal and tikanga experts. In their view, tino rangatiratanga clearly implies exclusive chiefly authority over land. Moriori (MIST & HMT) consider the Crown's position not only disingenuous—but outrageous. Tino rangatiratanga is not a term the Crown has the right to define, limit, or politically reinterpret to suit its convenience. The implications of this recognition are profound. It would undermine the integrity and intent of the Moriori Treaty settlement—an outcome Moriori worked toward for generations. It would also risk legitimising the 1835 invasion, where two mainland tribes used violence to kill, enslave, and displace the peaceful Moriori. Under tikane Moriori, land was never taken through warfare. Even under tikanga Māori, NMOW's claims to take raupatu were not found valid by the Waitangi Tribunal. This situation raises an unsettling question: Why is this happening at all? Why would the Crown give such clear assurances to Moriori, only to reverse course and grant the very recognition it swore it would withhold? This contradiction cuts to the core of the Crown's integrity and the trust that should underpin the Treaty settlement process. This legal challenge is not intended to delay or block NMOW's redress. Moriori supports their right to a settlement— provided it does not impinge upon or undermine Moriori rights. We offered a solution: remove the offending phrase from NMOW's Deed. The Crown refused. Moriori are now calling on the Crown to honour its promise of neutrality and refrain from taking any steps that would undermine the Treaty settlement signed with us just five years ago. Anything less risks eroding trust in the Crown's commitments. With all other avenues exhausted, Moriori will now seek to be heard in the court of law. We do so reluctantly, but with a firm commitment to uphold the dignity of our karapuna (ancestors) and protect the legacy we leave for future generations of our imi (people). Me rongo (In peace)
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- NZ Herald
What to eat in the Chatham Islands: A seafood lover's guide
Irish pub The Craic had me at hello, blue cod. Pan-fried and fresh with chunky chips and a tasty tartare. In fact, it had me so bad that I went back and had exactly the same for lunch the next day, before heading to the wharf to board our beautiful home away from home for a week, Ponant's Le Laperouse. And we were off to the Chatham Islands, where the best blue cod comes from (so they say...) Owenga, on the main island, Rekohu, was our first landing. Bouncing over the waves it was hard not to think of the bounty that lay beneath. As well as cod, the Chathams are renowned for their big crayfish, kina and pāua. But they are also a favourite meeting place for great white sharks, so best to concentrate on not falling overboard. After a bit of a paddle when exiting the Zodiac, I was hiking through farmland with gritty, damp feet. Crayfish season was, sadly, all but finished, and the paddocks were full of pots. The treescape was a mix of megaherbs, like the famous Chatham Island forget-me-nots and coastal trees sculpted by the wind; larger trees on the islands include the karaka, which was brought to the Chathams by the Moriori, who called it kopi. They ate the flesh of the berries and used the (poisonous) kernels to make a kind of flour. A couple of, thankfully friendly, four-legged locals followed us up to a gorgeous windswept beach when I saw something that I, at least, had never seen before. Amid the clumps of seaweed were pāua shells, hundreds of them, polished on both sides. I've still not been able to ascertain whether this 'phenomenon' is caused by natural abrasion by the sea, or a lack of barnacles, or indeed if it is a phenomenon. But I was pretty impressed. Another local, two-legged this time, stopped to chat and just casually dropped in that at low tide off the rocks here there were pools the kids fished in that were 'absolutely loaded' with crays, cod and pāua. 'I guess we take it for granted...' Our second landing at the Chathams was on Pitt Island/Rangiauria. Our guide was an off-islander farmer who went there for work and fell in love with the place, and with a local. There was a lot of pride evident when she told us that her (primary school-age) children would never starve; they could cook, garden, fish, hunt and forage. As well as being able to mend their own vehicles. This useless mainlander trudged on with a dodgy hip past more megaherbs — one of the more interesting being the Chathams' giant puha. (While the Chathams have the 'ordinary' puha, there's also a much bigger version, though not actually of the same genus. But they called it puha, so you might expect it was similarly eaten.) Once in danger of being eradicated by the wild sheep and pigs that inhabit the islands, which obviously found it delicious, this coastal plant is now making a big comeback. Wild pork and giant puha. Yum. Wild sheep? The only experience I have had close to that was on the Marquesas, where, as part of a mainly delicious feast, where I fell in love with octopus, they also cooked us some feral goat, a great favourite there. No. Sorry. Eau des armpit. The wild sheep hunted on Pitt, however, are descended from Saxon merinos taken to the islands in the 1800s. And merino meat is now trending as a delicious thing to eat, so I must put aside my prejudice. The woolly Pitt Island sheep we got closest to, however, were in a paddock next to the island's only accommodation, Flowerpot Bay Lodge. Feeling a tad cheaty, as we had only (hip, remember) attempted the 'short' walk option, we were welcomed to this comfortable retreat with a scrumptious morning tea. Fritters made with the local paua were served on home-baked bread. A delicious slice accompanied by coffee on the deck, looking out to the private gardens and the sea. Many visitors to the Chathams choose to spend at least a few days on Pitt Island, and the lodge is a gorgeous place, cosy on the inside, yet and wild on the outside — perched as it is on the corner of New Zealand's easternmost outpost, the first place in the world to see the rising sun. It has a storied history, occupying the site of the original homestead, settled all the way back in 1843. The lounge is lined with photos from the past and a vast selection of books containing all you need to know about the islands. What a remarkable place to stay. Back on the ship, the pāua feast continued, with guest chef Norka Mella Munoz of Wharekauhau Estate demonstrating her own recipe for fritters. Norka, on board as part of Ponant's partnership with Relais & Chateaux, explained that she prefers to make hers without flour, for a lighter and tastier version. Norka's petite frame was later seen wielding an enormous mallet to yet more pāua into submission for a tataki that featured in a special epicurean feast with other New Zealand specialties such as gin-cured Ora King Salmon and venison. The small taste of the magnificent larder that is the Chathams left me wanting much more, and I was excited to discover I could order 'Chatham Blue', snap-frozen and shipped directly from the islands — it's every bit as nice as the fish I had in Dunedin. They do crayfish tails and pāua pies too... Hmmmm.... The writer was a guest of Ponant.
