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| Repatriation of Māori heads | |
|---|---|
| Name | Repatriation of Māori heads |
| Native name | Mokomokai return |
| Type | Cultural repatriation |
Repatriation of Māori heads is the process of returning preserved Māori tattooed heads, or mokomokai, from overseas collections and institutions to iwi and hapū in Aotearoa New Zealand. The campaign intersects with museum practice, indigenous rights, international law, and genealogy, involving museums, archives, universities, collectors, descendants, and state actors.
Efforts to return mokomokai have engaged institutions such as the British Museum, Museums Victoria, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and Louvre Museum alongside New Zealand entities including Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland War Memorial Museum, National Library of New Zealand, and Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa Rangatira leaders. Key figures and organizations in advocacy and negotiation have included representatives from Waitangi Tribunal, Human Rights Commission (New Zealand), Māori Party, Te Puni Kōkiri, and tribal elders associated with iwi such as Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Tūhoe, and Te Arawa.
From the early 19th century contact era involving explorers like James Cook and traders such as John Rutherford and Thomas Kendall, mokomokai were commodified through exchanges with European and American collectors including Samuel Marsden and enterprise networks linked to Bay of Islands. Missionaries from Church Missionary Society and colonial officials including William Hobson observed and contested trade in tattooed heads, while whalers and traders associated with ports like Port Jackson and Valparaiso facilitated export. Collecting institutions such as the British Museum, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and private collectors like Hans Sloane and Alexander Turnbull amassed mokomokai alongside botanical and ethnographic specimens; collectors referenced works by ethnographers like James Fergusson and Edward Tregear.
Repatriation debates have invoked instruments and bodies such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Waitangi Tribunal, and legislation like the Protected Objects Act 1975 and statutes administered by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014. Ethical frameworks from the International Council of Museums and precedents in cases involving Aboriginal Australians and Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara communities have informed protocols. Legal disputes have involved institutions subject to laws such as the British Museum Act 1963 and policies at universities including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, complicating return due to ownership, accession records, and provenance linked to collectors like Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
Prominent repatriations include returns coordinated with Te Papa Tongarewa and iwi from institutions such as the Museums of Cambridge University, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum. High-profile cases involved negotiations with the British Museum, mediation by the New Zealand High Commission in London, and collaboration with museums like Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Victoria and Albert Museum, and National Museum of Scotland. Tribal repatriation claims have featured genealogists and historians referencing figures such as Hone Heke, Te Rauparaha, and leaders from Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Kahungunu to establish whakapapa.
For iwi and hapū including Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou, and Ngāi Tahu, mokomokai hold deep social, spiritual, and genealogical significance linked to concepts expressed by leaders like Sir Apirana Ngata and contemporary kaumātua. Perspectives from activists and scholars such as Hone Harawira, Moana Jackson, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, and representatives of Māori Women’s Welfare League emphasize dignity, mana, and tikanga; museums have sought input from cultural advisors and kaumātua from groups including Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Waikato.
Repatriation protocols involve provenance research using archives like the Alexander Turnbull Library, conservation measures conducted with input from Te Papa Tongarewa conservators and international partners including Conservation Department, British Museum, and ceremonial practices guided by kaumātua and kaumātua advisors from iwi. Agreements often reference the Waitangi Tribunal findings, bilateral discussions involving the New Zealand Parliament and foreign ministries such as Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand), and memoranda of understanding negotiated with institutions like Museums Victoria and National Museum of Australia.
Challenges include incomplete provenance records tied to collectors like George Grey and Edward Shortland, institutional legal constraints under acts like the British Museum Act 1963, divergent museum policies at institutions such as Harvard University and Yale University, and differing expectations between iwi and custodial institutions including Te Papa Tongarewa and foreign museums. Contemporary debates engage scholars and activists such as Ani Mikaere, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, and parties to international dialogues at forums including the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues about digital repatriation, public display protocols, and reparative justice measures.