B1: Māori heritage panel B: Māori heritage from an indigenous perspective: Claiming Agency, Sovereignty and Self-Determination
Tracks
1
| Sunday, November 29, 2026 |
| 2:25 PM - 3:40 PM |
| RHLT1 |
Overview
Stream: Māori heritage
Details
Speakers:
* Whina Te Whiu (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri) Community and Iwi Archives Advisor, Archives New Zealand and National Library of New Zealand. Ngā Kaihoe i a Raiātea Governance Board.
* Glenda Taituha-Toka (Waikato-Maniapoto) Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Kuia) General Manager, Heritage and Identity, Waikato-Tainui
* Te Rauparaha Horomona (Ngāti Toa) Whakapapa and Cultural Services Kaiārahi, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Toa Rangatira
In contrast to the panel from New Zealand Crown agencies, this panel brings together three Māori heritage practitioners leading iwi and hapū (tribal and sub-tribal) heritage initiatives across Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on their experiences in tribal museums and cultural centres (whare taonga), archives, exhibitions, collection care, repatriation and heritage capability development, the speakers explore how Māori are asserting authority over their ancestral treasures, knowledge, histories and cultural heritage (taonga tuku iho).
The panel examines how iwi and hapū are developing their own heritage infrastructure, strengthening cultural guardianship (kaitiakitanga) and building the capability to care for, interpret and transmit their heritage across generations. It considers the opportunities and challenges of working alongside government agencies and collecting institutions, and how partnerships can support Indigenous aspirations without compromising Indigenous authority.
Bringing these experiences into a wider international Indigenous context, the panel challenges heritage institutions to move beyond consultation and participation towards meaningful recognition of Indigenous agency, sovereignty and self-determination. It concludes with a call for Indigenous delegates and heritage practitioners to tūhono (connect), share experiences and strengthen collective approaches to ensuring that ancestral treasures, knowledge and cultural heritage are returned, protected and sustained by the communities to whom they belong.
Paper / Session Submitter
Glenda Taituha-toka
Gm Heritage & Identity
Waikato-tainui
Māori heritage from an indigenous perspective: Claiming Agency, Sovereignty and Self-Determination
Summary Abstract
In contrast to the panel from New Zealand Crown agencies, this panel brings together three Māori heritage practitioners leading iwi and hapū (tribal and sub-tribal) heritage initiatives across Aotearoa New Zealand. Drawing on their experiences in tribal museums and cultural centres (whare taonga), archives, exhibitions, collection care, repatriation and heritage capability development, the speakers explore how Māori are asserting authority over their ancestral treasures, knowledge, histories and cultural heritage (taonga tuku iho).
The panel examines how iwi and hapū are developing their own heritage infrastructure, strengthening cultural guardianship (kaitiakitanga) and building the capability to care for, interpret and transmit their heritage across generations. It considers the opportunities and challenges of working alongside government agencies and collecting institutions, and how partnerships can support Indigenous aspirations without compromising Indigenous authority.
Bringing these experiences into a wider international Indigenous context, the panel challenges heritage institutions to move beyond consultation and participation towards meaningful recognition of Indigenous agency, sovereignty and self-determination. It concludes with a call for Indigenous delegates and heritage practitioners to tūhono (connect), share experiences and strengthen collective approaches to ensuring that ancestral treasures, knowledge and cultural heritage are returned, protected and sustained by the communities to whom they belong.
The panel examines how iwi and hapū are developing their own heritage infrastructure, strengthening cultural guardianship (kaitiakitanga) and building the capability to care for, interpret and transmit their heritage across generations. It considers the opportunities and challenges of working alongside government agencies and collecting institutions, and how partnerships can support Indigenous aspirations without compromising Indigenous authority.
Bringing these experiences into a wider international Indigenous context, the panel challenges heritage institutions to move beyond consultation and participation towards meaningful recognition of Indigenous agency, sovereignty and self-determination. It concludes with a call for Indigenous delegates and heritage practitioners to tūhono (connect), share experiences and strengthen collective approaches to ensuring that ancestral treasures, knowledge and cultural heritage are returned, protected and sustained by the communities to whom they belong.
Biographies
Whina Te Whiu (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri)
Community and Iwi Archives Advisor, Archives New Zealand and National Library of New Zealand. Ngā Kaihoe i a Raiātea Governance Board.
Whina is a Māori heritage specialist with more than three decades of experience across libraries, museums, archives and iwi (tribal) heritage. She is currently the Community and Iwi Archives Advisor with Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand. Whina led the development of Raiātea, Aotearoa New Zealand's first purpose-built, hapū-owned and managed whare taonga (tribal cultural heritage centre), integrating museum, archival and research functions.
As a member of the Ngā Kaihoe i a Raiātea Governance Board, she continues to advocate for hapū authority over their ancestral treasures, histories and mātauranga (Māori knowledge), and to foster relationships between Indigenous communities and heritage institutions that uphold Māori values, authority and aspirations.
Glenda Taituha-Toka (Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Kuia)
General Manager, Heritage and Identity, Waikato-Tainui
Glenda is a senior executive at Waikato-Tainui, a Māori tribal organisation representing more than 100,000 tribal members and 68 marae (ancestral meeting grounds and community centres). Her team's work encompasses the storage, conservation and archiving of tribal collections, including physical and digital taonga (ancestral treasures), taonga species and whakapapa (genealogies and ancestral connections).
Supporting the tribe's long-term vision, Whakatupuranga 2050, her team delivers heritage capability programmes in whānau (extended family) collections conservation, provenance and storage, taonga species taxidermy, repatriation and sites of significance to mana whenua (Indigenous peoples with customary authority over their ancestral lands). They have also launched the Tiaki Taonga Diploma in partnership with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Waikato-Tainui is progressing plans for a tribal museum that will also serve as a regional heritage training facility, supporting marae and hapū collections to remain within their communities. Glenda holds an MBA and is completing her PhD at Auckland University of Technology.
Te Rauparaha Horomona (Ngāti Toa)
Whakapapa and Cultural Services Kaiārahi, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Toa Rangatira
Te Rauparaha is a Ngāti Toa cultural practitioner who brings a next-generation perspective to Māori heritage practice. His work centres on whakapapa (genealogy and ancestral relationships), mātauranga (Indigenous knowledge) and the connections between people, place and culture. He holds a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
His work supports iwi-led approaches to archives, research and the care of taonga tuku iho (ancestral treasures and inherited knowledge). Bringing a youth perspective to questions of heritage authority, access and cultural continuity, he advocates for the return of taonga to the iwi, hapū, marae and communities from which they originate. His contribution highlights the aspirations and responsibilities of the next generation in reclaiming, protecting and carrying ancestral knowledge forward.
