This seminar will discuss the methodologies, ethics, processes and procedures encountered in using new and emerging technologies to develop databases of Māori taonga in overseas museums, the digital repatriation of taonga and the creation of digital libraries of mātauranga Māori.

The speakers Arapata Hakiwai, Dr Wayne Ngata, Dr Hēmi Whaanga will focus on three Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga research projects that use technology to connect iwi, hapū and whānau with their taonga, history and mātauranga:
• Virtual repatriation: a database of Māori taonga in overseas museums, led by Arapata Hakiwai from Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand
• Te Ataakura: Re-connecting voyage collections in archives and museums through the creation of digital taonga, led by Dr Wayne Ngata, the Ministry of Education
• The ethics, processes and procedures associated with the digitisation of the Pei Jones collection, led by Dr Hēmi Whaanga from The University of Waikato

The speakers will share the research teams’ experiences, methodologies and strategies developed in each project and discuss some of the common issues that arise when using new technology in this developing research area.

Dr Wayne Ngata: He uri nō ngā iwi o te Tairāwhiti, nō Te Āitanga ā Hauiti, nō Ngāti Ira, nō Ngāti Porou anō hoki. I takea mai anō i reira ōna katoa. Heoi anō ko Ūawa te kāinga, ko Ūawa anō te awa, ko Tītīrangi te maunga. Ka aua atu e ako ana, e tohe ana, e kawe ana i ngā tūāhuatanga hei whakapakari i ngā kaupapa Māori hei oranga mō te Māori, otirā mō Te Āitanga ā Hauiti tonu. Nā reira i whāia atu ai te mātauranga hei ara mō te tinana, i aronui ai te ngākau ki ngā tikanga Māori hei tikitiki mō te māhunga, i pau ai te wairua ki ōna atua hei arataki anō i a ia, ka eke i runga i te kōrero, ‘Ko ngā pākura ēnei o Tokorākau, kāore e rongo i te hie’.

Wayne is from the Tairāwhiti with affiliations to Te Āitanga ā Hauiti, Ngāti Ira and Ngāti Porou. Raised in the Tairāwhiti, he resides in Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), and with others in the community, is an advocate for what Ūawa offers itself, the region, the country and the world. He is an active supporter of education towards constructive and productive citizenship, particularly in te reo Māori. His particular area of scholarship is Māori literature, specifically the language of mōteatea (traditional chant). He is a long time supporter of the renaissance in local Māori art as a platform for tribal intellectual, social and economic development, and with other members of Te Āitanga ā Hauiti, have developed strong working and research relationships with regional, national and international institutions. He is a teacher, and helped establish Māori Studies at the Tairāwhiti Polytechnic (now EIT Tairāwhiti) in the last two decades. He has been a member of the Board of the Māori Language Commission and currently works in a managerial role for the Ministry of Education with a focus on te reo Māori in schools.