When I was 17 I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a year in New Zealand. I had always wanted to experience a high school year abroad and my parents finally agreed to the plan in grade 11. They were at first upset that I had chosen New Zealand as they didn't think it really differed that much from Canada, and really the whole thing was suppose to be a "cultural experience." Luckily I held fast and it turned out that it was definitely more of an experience than even I could have predicted.
The town I lived in was just outside of Wellington with a small and very much a low income population. I also happened to fall into the category of belonging to a white minority, the majority of my classmates and neighbours being from the Pacific islands (Samoans, Fijians, Tongans, etc.) and most importantly a large and amazing community of Maoris. Because of this I became quite quickly educated and immersed into the Maori culture and to this day I am always interested in learning more about these wonderful people.
Like most indigenous populations, the Maori do not have the happiest history since colonization. A particular example being when the use of the Maori language was banned in schools from the 1870s until the 1970s, when Maori Tino Rangatiratanga (self determination) led the fight for Maori rights 1. Maori remains have also been taken from New Zealand through the years and like with Canada's First Nations there is a growing movement among the Maori to track down and repatriate these remains.
Maori remains fall into two categories:
The toi-moko, which are the preserved/dried tattooed Maori heads and the kōiwi tangata or human skeletons. It is forbidden to take photos of these items in New Zealand and I will not post any here. However, this video is a news report (in Maori with English subtitles) on the repatriation of toi-moko and while it shows a toi-moko I believe it is in respectful manner and therefore appropriate to share.
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| Maori remains returning to Te Papa Photo Source: Rob Kitchin, The Dominion Post |
There are several aspects to the Maori repatriation movement that I find fascinating. First there is the procedure itself. While there were some remains that were held domestically the majority were in foreign museums. Instead of each tribe having to work independently and on their own dime the New Zealand government mandated in 2003, that the national museum Te Papa, form the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme 2; a programme that is funded by the government! This also means that when these remains are repatriated they are brought to Te Papa first, and then the quest is undertaken to return them to their rightful tribe and place.
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| The handover in Rouen, France Photo Source: Associated Press |
The second aspect that caught my attention was both the success and the impact the movement and programme have had. As of 2012, the programme has successfully repatriated the remains of over 200 Maoris from 14 different countries 3. This is, in my opinion, a fantastic result and certainly worth celebration. But not only have these repatriations been successful they have also brought about a surprising policy change. In France, when the Rouen museum was involved with the Maori and had enthusiastically agreed to return their collection of toi-moko they hit and unexpected roadblock, the law. Previously the law placed such remains into an inalienable category and as such they had to undergo a process of declassification before they could be returned - a long and drawn out practice. But in 2010, France passed a new law one which facilitated repatriation efforts and removed all legal barriers to the Maori, the Rouen museum, and hopefully to all future efforts by other indigenous groups 4.
The repatriation efforts and results of the Maori are definitely an example to be used by other groups. As the Rouen museum put it, it is about time that we put an end to the "hateful trafficking of another era" 5, a statement with which I wholeheartedly agree.
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