ABSTRACT
In New Zealand, Indigenous scholars and museum professionals are achieving a ‘Māorification’ of museum spaces. This demands an acknowledgement and respect for the fact that there are different worldviews that inform how objects are valued and cared for. At New Zealand’s national museum, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), this is underpinned by the concept of mana taonga. This people-centred museological approach holds that taonga – collections – have agency to give and receive mana (power, authority, status, respect) through interactions with their originating communities. Conversely, communities enact their authority by guiding how their taonga are used and cared for. This approach is illustrated by two case studies. The first demonstrates the ceremonial use of collection items, in this case kākahu (cloaks) worn by expert cultural practitioners for Matariki, a new public holiday marking the Māori New Year. The second explains the decisions involved in the treatment of a haki (flag) completed to enable its display in an exhibition designed and curated by Rongowhakaata iwi (tribe), as part of Te Papa’s iwi in residence programme 2017–2022.
