Tips and tales from around the motu (island)
We have held two digital photography and paper conservation workshops since my last diary, one in Whangarei and one in Masterton. It was a full house in Whangarei at North Tec Marae, and Masterton at Ucol University College of Learning Marae Whakaoriori, and there is intense interest in these workshops that National Services Te Paerangi is currently rolling out around the country. Iwi were also interested in other ways we can help and assist them in their cultural strategies.
Below is just a few of the issues raised during the course of the workshops.
Digitisation of images that hang in wharenui
Iwi around the country find digitisation of images innovative and exciting, but there was a note of caution raised regarding the use of these images on iwi internet sites. This is an area that needs to be discussed by iwi to explore and resolve the issues around this subject.
Traditional knowledge and Intellectual Property
The issue of adequate protection for, and limitations of this knowledge is of particular concern to iwi. This might also lead into discussions on trademarks, imagery and signs; copyright and sound recordings including literary, dramatic and musical works etc. The Ministry of Economic Development has produced a guide (details below) which covers these topics and provides practical tools that may assist whanau, hapū, iwi and commercial entities who wish to formally protect and enforce IP rights.
Te Mana Taumaru Mūtauranga - Intellectual Property Guide for Māori organisations and communities.(2007)
Ministry of Economic Development
Manatu Ōhanga
Head Office
33 Bowen Street
PO Box 1473
Wellington
Archiving
Archives and learning how to archive papers, manuscripts, whakapapa documents, and land records is dealt with in the second day of the workshop. Archives records or materials may include printed documents or photographs, maps, audio and visual recordings and computer disks.
If you are looking for assistance to start putting in order, classifying and filing those boxes of whakapapa, whanau, hapū and iwi documents, please contact Kylie Ngaropo, Community Archivist at Archives New Zealand on 04 894 6068 or Kylie.ngaropo@archives.ovt.nz
Oral Histories
Increasingly iwi around New Zealand are interested in recording oral histories amongst their whanau and iwi groupings. The memories that our old people hold are precious and deserve to be recorded for our tamariki-mokopuna.
Whanau and hapū stories, life histories, Treaty claims, marae/hapū projects, Runanga research, reo analysis, community-based language groups, and workshops for life histories are some of the kaupapa that Taina Tangaere Mcgregor works with daily in her role as a Oral Historian Teacher at The National Library. Please contact Taina for further information on Taina.mcgreor@natlib.govt.nz
In December, I’ll take a closer look at other issues that have cropped up while we have been working around the motu.
I would like to finish by thanking the following iwi members in:
Whangarei
Taipari Munroe at North Tec, Te Warihi Hetaraka and William Kaipo at Te Puni Kōkiri, and Cassandra Welsh from Ringawera.
Masterton
Helen Morris from Ngā Kanohi Marae and Beverley Kemp-Harmer and Dixie Reo at Te Puni Kōkiri.
Gavin Reedy, Iwi Development Officer
Contact Gavin by email at gavinr@tepapa.govt.nz or call 029 601 0440 or 0508 678 743