My own reaction to reading these divisive stories today was, "Give my iwi the taonga that was stolen from them. Do not let their mana be destroyed by inappropriate acts". Simpy put - if Te Papa wishes to retain the confidence of iwi who have entrusted their taonga to them (willingly or otherwise) the museum needs to act appropriately.
The requirement to make people aware that "wahine who are either hapu (pregnant) or mate wahine (menstruating)" should stay away from the Taonga Māori collection is not new - it's been there since Te Papa received that collection. Many years ago, as part of a group of local government officials, I viewed part of this collection. We were asked to consider staying outside, in the public area, if we were hapu or mate wahine. One woman did and - get this - did not object. She was also given a business card and invited to contact the museum staff at a later date should she wish to view then.
You can read more here
(hat-tip kiwipolitico
1 comment:
Thanks Maia, Lynne's blog really helped me sort out my own feelings and said it in a way I never could. I appreciate you sharing it at THM as I don't have a good grasp of whats in the blogosphere :)
I appreciated her viewpoint even more as she talked through her experiences as she viewed the collection.
I hope others read this who are open to the viewpoint and willing to think about it from her perspective.
I said on one of the other threads on THM that I felt a tension within myself about my reactions, I don't as much now and that is a gift.
Cheers!
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