Te Taunaha i ngā Tapuwae ō mātou Tīpuna: Piloting the use of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels by Ngā Hapū o Waimārama for their Archaeological sites

Project Summary 

Every Indigenous community has cultural and biological material held by national archives, libraries, and museums that they do not own or control. Archsite is the online database for the national archaeological site recording scheme of the New Zealand Archaeological Association that began in 1964. The modification of all archaeological sites is regulated by law. Practices for recording archaeological information have often excluded data from or about hau kāinga associated with sites, even if these were created by their own tūpuna (such as pā) or are situated on Māori-owned land. This is a significant issue for Hapū/Iwi communities engaging with environmental issues or resource management consents that take into account archaeological site information. Improving Māori content and data within Archsite will support the recognition of Hapū/Iwi rights and interests on the records and in relation to those locations. This information would likely flow-on to assist Hapū/Iwi in the various regulatory processes around development. 

This project piloted the use of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels as a mechanism to ensure that provenance, protocols, and permissions can be recorded on Archsite records associated with Ngā Hapū o Waimarama through wānanga with whānau and engagement with institutional data holders. TK Labels have been used by Iwi in Aotearoa to reflect their cultural authority on National Collections held by Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, and the Whakatōhea Waiata App. They have yet to be used in the context of archaeological records, so this will be a new application of the Labels. While this project is for Ngā Hapu o Waimarama, piloting their use with ArchSite by creating workflows and technical implementation, will enable the application of TK Labels by other Hapū and Iwi in this system, and further their assertion of their association and interests with respect to archaeological sites.

Research Question

How could Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels be applied by iwi/hapū to the information held by institutions about their archaeological sites?

Lead Researcher  

Professor Annemarie Gillies, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Te Arawa, EIT Te Pukenga

Research Team

Dr Xavier Forde, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Huia, Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato  

Dr Janette Hamilton-Pearce, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Pahauwera, Tūwharetoa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato

Dr Jeremy McLeod, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa, Rangitāne, Waimarama Māori Committee, representing Ngā Hapū o Waimarama