Indigenous Wāhine Talking Critically in the Museum Space

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Berghahn Journals
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2022
Authors
Wilson-Hokowhitu N
Mills M
Yates R
Cobley, Joanna
Abstract

jats:pAs greater numbers of community groups experience social disconnect, museums need to find better methods of engagement in order to remain relevant. We know that museums are no longer neutral spaces; in fact, they have a role to play in activism, which means they can shift their mission to support local communities celebrate and protect their Indigenous heritage (Drubay and Singhal 2020; Message 2018; Shelton 2013). What follows is a meditation by researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand who engage with Pacific-Indigenous concepts and museum practice in unique ways. Our big idea is to see “Oceania through Indigenous eyes” (Lagi-Maama 2019: 291) and, in particular, the eyes of Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu with jats:italicmo‘okū‘auhau</jats:italic> to Kalapana, Hawai‘i, and Moloka‘i Nui a Hina; Maree Mills with jats:italicwhakapapa</jats:italic> to Tongariro, Taupō, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa; and Rachel Yates, who hails from Vaisala, Sāmoa. As a collective, their curatorial talano jats:italickaōrero/mo‘olelo/</jats:italic>stories connect to current debates in the museum world where local problems need local solutions. In this instance, Wilson-Hokowhitu and Mills share the ideas that shaped their mahi at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato in Hamilton, and Yates has just finished a COVID-19 project as Curator of Pacific Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.</jats:p>

Description
Citation
Cobley, J., Wilson-Hokowhitu N,, Mills M., Yates R. (2022). Indigenous Wāhine Talking Critically in the Museum Space.
Keywords
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::43 - History, heritage and archaeology::4302 - Heritage, archive and museum studies::430206 - Heritage collections and interpretations
Fields of Research::45 - Indigenous studies::4513 - Pacific Peoples culture, language and history::451306 - Pacific Peoples curatorial, archives and museum studies
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All rights reserved unless otherwise stated