Nō te taenga mai o Kāpene Kuki i te tau 1769 ka takoha te Māori i āna taonga ki te Pākehā. Ka riro te mana o ēnei taonga mai i te ao taketake a te Māori i te ture o te Pākehā, otirā i ōna whare pupuri taonga. Mai i taua wā ka riro te mano taonga i te Pākehā i te tuku whakaaetanga, i te hoko, i te tuopu me te tāhae. Ka hokona e ngā whare taonga me ngā kaipupuri taonga ngā taonga Māori, ka tuopu rānei mō ētahi taonga o tāwāhi, ā, tau rawa atu ngā taonga a te Māori ki ngā whare taonga nui whakaharahara o te ao.
I toko ake ngā whare taonga i te huanga whakamīharo o te ao ahumahi o Ūropi, me te whakamoana atu ki ngā whenua o iwi kē. Ko tā ngā mana nui o te ao, arā, a Peretānia, a Wīwī, a Tiamana, e Peina me Hōrana, he tohe mō te ao. Ko te kohinga tēnā o ngā taonga a ngā tāngata whenua o te ao me te whakaatu ki ngā pūtahi pērā i te Whare Taonga o Peretānia. Ka noho ko ngā taonga hei whakatinana i te whakataiwhenuatanga o te Pākehā.
I ēnei rā kāore tonu e ārikarika ngā taonga Māori kei ngā whare taonga o tāwāhi. He wā ka ngana te iwi Māori ki te whakahoki mai i ngā taonga, tae rawa ki ngā kōiwi tangata. Ko te whare o Ruatepupuke anō tētahi tauira. Kei te Whare Taonga o Chicago Field Museum tēnei whare, ka mutu, kua tau te kōrero i waenganui i te whare taonga me ōna uri me pēhea hoki te whakaatu atu i te wharenui.
I hangaia ngā whare taonga tuatahi o Aotearoa i te wā e hīkaka ana te ao ki ngā whakakitenga pērā i te Whakakitenga Nui ki Rānana i te tau 1851. I tonoa hoki ngā taonga mai i Aotearoa ki ngā whakakitenga i tāwāhi, ā, he nui tonu ngā whakakitenga i tū ki Aotearoa tonu. Ka mutu ko tana kaupapa kē he whakaatu i te whanaketanga o te Pākehā. Ko te Whakakitenga ā-Ao i Philadelphia tētahi taiopenga i whai wāhi te Māori ki te whakaatu i āna taonga.
I te whakatūnga o ngā kāwanatanga o ngā koroni, ka whakatūria wawetia hoki ngā whare taonga hei whakaatu i te whanaketanga o te Pākehā ki Amerika, ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa me Āhia. I te tau 1852 ka whakatūria te kāwanatanga Pākehā tuatahi o Aotearoa ki Tāmaki-makaurau. Ōrua mai ko te whakatuwherahanga o te whare taonga tuatahi o te motu, arā, te Auckland Institute. Whai muri atu ka whakatūria te Whare Taonga o Aotearoa ki Pōneke (i te tau 1865), te Whare Taonga o Ōtākou ki Ōtepoti ( i te tau 1868) me te Whare Taonga o Waitaha ki Ōtautahi (i te tau 1870). Ka whakaaturia ngā ‘taonga rerekē’ ki ēnei whare taonga katoa. Ka noho ēnei taonga hei tauira o te muru raupatu o ngā rawa a te Māori.
I waihangatia e Raharuhi Rukupō mā a Te Hau-ki-Tūranga i te tekau tau 1840 ki Ōrākaiapu, e pātata ana ki Tūranganui-a-Kiwa. I te tau 1867 ka murua e te Minita Māori e James Richmond te whare, ā, ka kāhakina ki te Whare Taonga o Aotearoa ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara; ahakoa anō te whakahē a Rongowhakaata. I te tau 2011 e tū tonu ana te whare ki Te Papa Tongarewa. I tērā tau ka whakaaetia e te Karauna i te tau 2017 ka whakahokia te whare ki a Rongowhaaata.
Ka aua atu te wā, ā, ka panoni ngā whare taonga i ngā kupu hei whakamahuki i ngā taonga Māori. I te paunga atu o te rautau 1700 ki ngā tau tōmua o te rautau 1800 ka kīia ngā taonga Māori ‘ko ngā hanga mīharo o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa’. Nō te wāhitanga o te ao Māori i te rironga o ngā whenua i te rautau 1800 ka kaha ake te riro atu o ngā taonga me ngā kōiwi tangata. I tērā wā ka kīia ngā taonga Māori ki roto i ngā whare taonga he taonga nā te iwi mate, ā tōna wā ka pikitia e te Pākehā.
Nō te tekau tau 1920 ko te mātauranga tikanga tangata te tikanga nui rawa hei rangahau i ngā pūtake mai o te tangata. Kātahi ka kohia ngā taonga hei rangahau, hei whakataurite atu ki ngā tauira o te ao mātauranga momo tangata, mātauranga taiao hoki. I roto i te mātauranga whaipara tangata, ka kīia te taonga Māori ‘he taputapu nō uki’.
I te tekau tau 1960 ka whai te ao toi o te wā i ngā taiwhanga o Amerika, ā, ka whakamahia te taonga Māori hei ‘toi ukiuki’. Ko tā ngā whare taonga whakahau i te tekau tau 1980 he toi Māori kē te taonga. Ahakoa kua panoni haere ngā whare taonga i ngā whakamahuki mō te taonga Māori, ka ū tonu ki tā rātou whakaatu i ngā taonga Māori. I ia wā huri ai te ingoa o ngā taonga ka kitea te āhua ake o te iwi manene, ā, tē aro ki te āhua ake o te iwi nā rātou tonu aua taonga i waihanga. Ko tētahi o ngā mātāpono Māori tē arohia i ngā whare taonga, ko te tikanga o te takoha taonga tētahi ki tētahi.
Haunga te wairua Pākehā o ngā whakaaturanga a ngā whare taonga, ka ngana tonu te Māori kia whai hono ki ngā whare taonga o Aotearoa. I roto i ēnei tūhonotanga, riro katoa te mana i ngā whare taonga. Mai i te paunga o te rautau 1800 ki ngā tau tōmua o 1900 ka mahi tahi ngā kaiārahi Māori ki ngā pūkenga, ngā kaikohi me ngā toihau whare taonga e mau tonu ai te tuakiri a te Māori. I ngā tekau tau 1870 me 1880 ko Paora Tūhaere o Ngāti Whātua te kaitiaki o te waka taua o Te Tāpiri i tōna wharau i Tāmaki Paenga Hira. He maha ngā iwi whai pānga ki tēnei waka whakahirahira.
Arā anō ngā tauira o te whakamahi a te Māori i te whare taonga hei tāwharau i ngā taonga:
Ka aukati anō te Māori i ngā mahi tānoanoa i ngā urupā. I te tau 1932 ka tuhi ngā rangatira o Te Uri-o-Hau ki a George Graham o te Tāmaki Paenga Hira mō ngā mahi tūkino a te Pākehā ki Kaipara. Nō tētahi wā anō ka noho ko Ngata tonu ki te turuki i te kēhi a ngā Māori o Waihī.
Ko Mākereti Papakura, arā, ko ‘Guide Maggie’ o Tūhourangi tētahi o ngā wāhine rongonui o Rotorua. Nō te tekau tau 1920, nōna e noho ana i Ingarangi, e ako ana ia i te mātauranga tikanga tangata ki te wānanga i Oxford. I horaina e ia āna ake taonga ki te whare taonga o Pitt Rivers, te whare taonga tikanga tangata o Oxford. I tuku tohutohu anō ia ki te whare taonga e pā ana ki ngā tohutohu a ōna koeke.
I te tekau tau 1930 ko Ngata te Māori tuatahi kia tū hei mema mō te poari o te Whare Taonga o Aotearoa. Nō te tau 1977 rā anō ka whai atu te whare taonga o Tāmaki-makaurau i te tauira a te tominiana, arā, i te whakawahinga o Hugh Kāwharu hei mema. He pia hoki a Kāwharu nā Ngata, nā Te Rangi Hīroa mā.
Nō muri rā anō i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ka rerekē haere ngā pāhekoheko i waenganui i ngā whare taonga me te Māori. Kātahi anō ka whai hiranga ngā whare taonga ki te marea, tae rawa ki ngā taone noho mātotoru ana te Māori, pērā i Ngāmotu, i Whanganui, i Papaioea, i Ahuriri, i Tūranganui-a-Kiwa me Rotorua. Nō konei ka puea he reanga hou o ngā tauiwi taiea. Nā runga i ā rātou mahi ka whai wāhi anō te Māori ki āna taonga.
I ngā tekau tau 1970 me 1980 ka tahuri te aro o ngā tauira toi Māori ki ngā whare taonga o ngā taone nui. Ka whakamau atu rātou ki ngā tāmitanga o te Pākehā i ngā taonga taketake me te ōkeke i ngā kōiwi tangata. Ōrua mai ka kaha ake te whanaungatanga i waenganui i ngā iwi me ngā whare taonga ā-rohe. Hei tauira:
I te tau 1936 ko Te Rangi Hīroa te kaiwhakahaere Māori tuatahi ki te Whare Taonga Pīhopa ki Honolulu, ā, mate noa ia i te tau 1951. I te tau 1978 ko Mina McKenzie te wahine Māori tuatahi kia tū hei kaiwhakahaere, arā, ki te whare taonga o Papaioea. I ēnei tau tata, i te tau 2009, ko Monty Soutar anake te Māori kia tū hei kaiwhakahaere. Ko ia te kaiwhakahaere mō te Whare Taonga o Tūranganui-a-Kiwa mai i te tau 2006 ki te tau 2009.
I puta te rongo o Te Māori i ngā tau 1984-87, arā, i te putanga i ngā parirau o Peretānia ki ngā wai māreparepa o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. I tū tārake te whakakitenga o Te Māori, inā rā ko ngā taonga he tīpuna tonu. He whakahēnga hoki tērā ki te heitara, nō te ao kōhatu noa iho te taonga Māori. Ko Hirini Moko Mead te pou turuki i Te Māori.
Ko te mahi a te komiti whakahaere he rapu i te māramatanga mai i ngā tīpuna me ngā uri ki te whakaaturanga o ngā taonga. I tukuna nā ngā kaumātua tonu a Te Māori i whakatuwhera. He pae nekeneke a Te Māori, inā rā ka tukuna mā tēnā iwi, mā tēnā iwi he wāhanga ki te noho i te pae o Te Māori. I tīmata te whakakitenga ki te Āporo Nui i te marama o Mahuru i te tau 1984. Ko te whakamutunga i tū ki te Whare Taonga o Field ki Chicago.
I kī a Te Rangihau ki te whakakitenga o Te Māori ki te Whare Taonga o Metropolitan ‘He mauri tō ngā taonga nei, he kai mā te whatu me te hinengaro, kia kore ai e waikura noa ki ngā tara me ngā rua o ngā whare taonga o Aotearoa … Ānei rātou e tū hirahira nei, e whakatau atu nei. Anei mātou, e tū teitei ana.’1
I hau te rongo o Te Māori ki ngā tōpito o te ao, ā, i oho ake te hunga pāpāho o Aotearoa ki te mana o te ahurea Māori. Ka tahuri haere ngā whanonga o te ao, me te tūmatanui. I roto i ērā toru tau ka kīnaki a Te Māori i te whai mārama o te motu ki ngā kawenga taketake o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Nō te hokinga mai o Te Māori ka tino rongo te Māori me te Pākehā i te mana o ēnei taonga. Ko ngā whare tokowhā i tūria ai a Te Māori ko te Whare Taonga Ā-Motu ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara, ko te Whare Taonga o Otākou ki Ōtepoti, ko te Taiwhanga Toi o Robert McDougall ki Ōtautahi me Te Taiwhanga Toi o Tāmaki-makaurau. Ko te komiti whakahaere te pakihiwi kaha ki ngā whakakitenga, otirā ka whakawhiti kōrero hoki te komiti ki ngā iwi. Ka mutu ko ngā kaiārahi o ngā pōwhiri he uri whakaheke nā te hunga i whakairo ngā taonga o Te Māori. Nō tana whakakōpanitanga i te tau 1987 kua whakatamarahi te motu ki tōna tuakiri Māori me te pūāwaitanga o te iwiruatanga.
E kī ana te kaiwhakahaere whare taonga a Rhonda Paku: ‘Koia tērā i whakaoho i te Māori ki te whakamiha o te ao ki ā mātou taonga. Koirā te wā tuatahi i kite ai au i te taonga Māori kia whakanuia i runga i te pouaka whakaata. He karanga tērā kia maranga ki ā mātou taonga ora. Ehara i te taonga mokonaha – nā mātou i whai reo ai ngā taonga.’2
I tautoko kaha a Peter Tapsell kia whai wāhi ake te Māori ki ngā whare taonga. Koia hoki te minita a te kāwanatanga Reipa mō te tari taiwhenua. Nā te angitū o Te Māori i te tau 1985 ka pāho ia tērā e whakatūria tētahi whare taonga mō te motu hei whakaata hoki i te iwiruatanga o Aotearoa i raro i te maru o te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ko te whakatūnga tērā o te Rōpū Whakaara i te Whare Taonga o Aotearoa me āna whakawhitiwhiti kōrero ki ngā marae maha. Ko te hua ko te whakatuwheratanga o Te Papa Tongarewa ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara i te tau 1998.
Taro kau ake, ka maha ake te kanohi Māori ki ngā whare taonga o te motu. I te tau 1988 ka waihanga te Whare Taonga ā-Motu i tētahi kura mō ngā Māori e whai mahi ana ki te whare taonga. Ko ngā kaiako o taua kura ko Erenora Puketapu Hetet, ko te kaiwhakairo ko Rangi Hetet, me Bill Cooper o te Whare Taonga ā-Motu. I puta te ihu o te tokomaha o ngā ākonga ki ngā whare taonga maha.
I whakairotia a Pūkaki i te takiwā o te tau 1836. Ka mutu ko Pūkaki he tupuna nō Ngāti Whakaue me ētahi anō o ngā koromatua o Te Arawa. I te tau 1877 ka takoha a Te Arawa i a Pūkaki ki te Karauna, hei whakapūmau i te kirimana wawao i ō rātou whenua. Ko Pūkaki tētahi o ngā taonga hirahira ki te whakakitenga o Te Māori. Ka mutu i te tau 1997 ka whakahokia e Tāmaki Paenga Hira a Pūkaki ki a Ngāti Whakaue.
I te tekau tau 1990 rerekē haere ngā whare taonga o Aotearoa i te putaputa ake o ngā whakakitenga ake a te Māori. Nō reira ka aropūtia te taonga me te toi Māori. E whai ake nei ko ngā tauira:
Ka tahuri te ao Māori ki te whakarite i a ia anō. Ka whakatū a Hirini Moko Mead rāua ko Te Aue Davis i te Kaitiakitanga o Te Māori Manaaki Taonga hei whakarato i ngā karahipi whai pānga. Nā Mina McKenzie rāua ko Bill Cooper i whakaemi mai ngā Kaitiaki Māori. I te tau 1992 ka tūhono te rōpū ki te Rōpū o Ngā Whare Taonga o Aotearoa.
Nā runga i ēnei mahi ka takoto te tikanga mō ngā whare taonga o te motu, arā, kia whai wāhi mai te hunga kaumātua, me te whakamārama tika i ngā taonga. Nō te pokapū o te tekau tau 1990 ka hangaia mai ngā komiti kaumātua. Ka whakatūria anō ngā tūnga whakahaere, ā, ko Cliff Whiting te kaihautū tuatahi o Te Papa. I muri mai ko Mere Whaanga te kaiwhakahaere mō ngā uara ā-iwi ki Tāmaki Paenga Hira.
I roto i āna mahi tahi ka waihanga marae a Te Papa. Nā Cliff Whiting i hoahoa te marae, otirā hei huihuinga mā ngā iwi katoa o te ao. He pīataata ngā whakanikoniko o te wharenui e whakaatu ana i ngā tīpuna o te Māori me te Pākehā.
He kaupapa nui mō te Māori te Ture o Tāmaki Paenga Hira, i hainatia i te tau 1996. Ka hāngai tonu te ture ki ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi me ngā tikanga Māori e pā ana ki te tiaki a ngā whare taonga i te taonga. Kātahi ka hangā i runga i taua ture ngā Taumata-ā-Iwi o te Poari o Tāmaki Paenga Hira. Ko ngā iwi o te taumata ko Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, ko Waikato-Tainui me Ngāti Pāoa. Nō te tau 1997 ka ārahi te Taumata-ā-Iwi i te hokinga o Pūkaki (te tipuna whakairo i runga i te kapa 20 hēneti) ki āna uri o Ngāti Whakaue me Te Arawa whānui.
I te paunga o te tekau tau 1990 ka whakamātau te Kāhui Whare Taonga o Aotearoa ki te whakauru i ngā tikanga Māori ki ōna kaupapa whānui. Heoi kāore tonu ētahi o ngā kaiwhakahaere Pākehā i whakapono he take tō te Māori ki ō rātou whakahaere. Nō te pokapū o te tekau tau 1990 ka hanga ēnei kaiwhakahaere i te Uepū Whare Taonga. Ā, nō te tau 1999 ka taka te Kāhui Whare Taonga; te Uepū Whare Taonga me ngā Kaitiaki Māori (ngā kaimahi Māori o ngā whare taonga) ki raro i te mana o Ngā Whare Taonga o Aotearoa.
I te tau 1997 ka puta te pūrongo a Gerard O’Regan e pā ana ki te whai kanohi o te Māori ki ngā whare taonga. Kei roto ngā tini whakararu mō te Māori, e eke ai ki ngā mahi taumata teitei, whakahaere hoki. Nō konei putaputa ai te reanga o te whakakitenga Te Māori i ngā whare wānanga. Heoi ka nngana tonu rātou ki te kimi mahi me te whakamahi i ngā pūkenga ahurea Māori.
Tae noa ki te tau 2000 ko Te Papa anake te whare taonga i ngana ki te tuku mahi ki ngā ngaio whare taonga Māori. Ko te kaihautū Māori te kaiārahi. I horapa whānui ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi i Te Papa Tongarewa, ā, ka mahi ngātahi ngā kapa i raro i ngā kaiwhakahaere takirua.
Ko tētahi o ngā putanga i te uepū Māori ko te Hōtaka o Karanga Aotearoa, arā, ko te whakaemi i ngā mokamōkai Māori, Moriori hoki kei ngā whare taonga o te ao, me te whakahoki ki te wā kāinga.
Ka waihanga anō te uepū Māori i te taiwhanga o Mana Whenua hei whakaatu i ngā taonga a ngā iwi o te motu. Ka tukuna he wā mā tēnā, mā tēnā hei hora i ā rātou taonga ki roto ki te taiwhanga, ka mutu ka noho tonu te hunga kaumātua o ngā iwi ki te whāngai kōrero ki ngā kaimahi me ngā manuhiri.
Nā runga i te whakatau a te hunga kaumātua ka waihanga anō a Tāmaki Paenga Hira i tētahi uepū Māori. I mua atu ka mautohehia te ihu tū a te whare taonga ki te Māori, i te tapitapinga o te taiwhanga Māori i te tau 1999. I te tau 2000 ka waihangatia te tūnga tumuaki me te uepū uara Māori 15 te tokomaha.
Ahakoa kāore e rahi ngā pūtea kāwanatanga, ka ngana tonu nga whare taonga ā-rohe ki ngā kaupapa Māori. Nō te tekau tau 1990 ka hangaia a Pātaka ki Porirua i raro i te mana ārahi o te tohungatoi a Darcy Nicholas. Nō muri mai ko Puke Ariki ki Papaioea te tuatahi o ngā whare taonga kia haurua Māori, haurua Pākehā hoki te poari whakahaere. I te tau 2006 ka tohua a Monty Soutar ki te tūranga kaiwhakahaere o te Whare Taonga o Te Tairāwhiti.
Ko Te Puia te whare toi whakairo, toi raranga Māori o Aotearoa. He taiwhanga, he whakakitenga hoki kei Te Puia, tae atu ki ētahi pāhekoheko ki ngā mahi i Te Puia i te taha hoki o ngā mahi whakairo, mahi raranga. He whakahaerenga ā-iwi, e whakahaerehia ana e te Māori, ka mutu he Māori katoa ngā kaimahi. Ko te pūtahi toi kōhatu o Te Ana Māori ki Te Tihi-o-Maru tētahi whakahaerenga a Ngāi Tahu. Ka whakamahia ngā whakakitenga me ngā whakawhitiwhiti hei ako i te toi kōhatu, ka takahia hoki ngā wāhi toi kōhatu.
Nō te whakatau haeretanga o ngā kokoraho tiriti ka tahuri te aro a ngā iwi ki te whakatū rua mahara mō ngā taonga e pupuri ana ki ngā whare taonga. Ka haere tonu ngā pāhekoheko a ngā iwi me ngā whare taonga. Ko tētahi hononga ko Te Ahu i Kaitāia – he pūtahi hapori e mau ana i ngā taonga o ngā iwi o Te Rarawa, o Te Aupōuri, o Ngāti Kahu, o Ngāi Takoto me Ngāti Kurī. Ko ngā whakawhitiwhiti hoki ērā a Ngāi Tahu me te whare taonga o Toitū Ōtākou ki Ōtepoti.
Mai i te tau 2008 ka panoni te ao tōrangapū, ā, ka paheke haere ngā tūranga mahi puta noa i ngā whare taonga. Ka warea te Māori ki ngā mahi i waho atu i te tiaki i ngā taonga Māori, mahi takawaenga ki ngā iwi. I ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau 2010 ka tū te ihu o Te Papa kia whai wāhi te hoa tiriti ki te pae whakahaere. Nā ngā hanganga hou hoki i Tāmaki Paenga Hira i whakakorehia ai te Uepū Uara Māori.
Ahakoa ngā paheketanga ka hoake tonu te reanga hou i ngā whare wānanga ki ngā momo tūranga maha ki ngā whare taonga. Nō te tekau tau 1980 ka waihangatia te hōtaka ao whare taonga i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, ā, whai muri iho ka tū ko ērā o Te Whare wānanga o Tāmaki, o Wikitōria ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara me Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou. Ka whakahaere tonutia e ngā Māori ngā whakakitenga i mawhiti ki ngā tōpito o te ao.
McCarthy, Conal. Exhibiting Māori: a history of colonial cultures of display. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Te Papa Press, 2007.
McCarthy, Conal. Museums and Māori: heritage professionals, indigenous collections, current practice. Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Te Papa Press, 2011.
Mead, Sidney Moko, ed. Te Maori: Maori art from New Zealand collections. Tāmakimakaurau: Heinemann, New York: American Federation of Arts, 1984.
Tapsell, Paul. Maori treasures of New Zealand. Tāmakimakaurau: David Bateman in association with Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, 2006.
Tapsell, Paul. Pukaki: a comet returns. Tāmakimakaurau: Reed Books, 2000.