So last week we introduced you to the bicultural way we frame our work and values at Tāmaki Paenga Hira…
We work in a complex bicultural landscape, and navigating it from within a colonial institution is a journey in itself. @aucklandmuseum is supported by the Taumata-ā-Iwi (Māori Committee) who provide cultural safety to our staff and the taonga in our care: aucklandmuseum.com/your-museum/ab…
@aucklandmuseum Established in 1996, the Taumata-ā-Iwi was founded upon the principle of mana whenua (customary authority of and over ancestral land, in our case Pukekawa Auckland Domain), and is composed of members of the Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa, and Waikato Tainui iwi.
@aucklandmuseum These three pou (carved figures) are the taumata representations of Tāmaki Paenga Hira standing in Te Ao Tūroa (our Māori Natural History Gallery). 
@aucklandmuseum In 2012 the Taumata-ā-Iwi gifted @aucklandmuseum “He Korahi Māori” a cultural philosophy based on the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Te Tiriti o Waitangi that leads our journey toward being a bicultural organisation: aucklandmuseum.com/your-museum/ab…
@aucklandmuseum @aucklandmuseum is also proud to have a strong Pacific dimension. We work with our Pacific Advisory Group to build on this dimension and to ensure our Pacific collections and communities are embraced and celebrated.
@aucklandmuseum The guiding document “Teu le Vā: The Pacific Dimension at Auckland Museum” was created in 2016: aucklandmuseum.com/your-museum/ab…
This cultural context strongly influences our relationship with the #OpenGLAM world. Copyright, particularly the concept of the public domain, is not always compatible with cultural principles. We prioritise the mana of our taonga and the people / iwi that whakapapa to them.
We therefore take particular care with requests to use images which depict Māori or Pacific subjects or content and these align with He Korahi Māori and Teu Le Vā.
We have very much considered cultural permissions for this Twitter takeover, and have been conscious in our choices to include real-world examples that may affect taonga and their kaitiaki.
We act as kaipupiri (holders), but whānau are the ultimate kaitiaki of taonga Māori. As a consequence, we chose not to include some images in our examples here due to the nature of this process.
Central to the process is an acknowledgement that images and their data carry meaning associated with the taonga and the subjects they depict well beyond mere events or records. They offer a sense of a shared past through objects, people, events and places...
By centring this we have been able to offer a way in which the mana and integrity of images and their communities are afforded appropriate manaaki (care).
It is here where mana taonga, kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga are enacted as integral processes and practices to Māori and to the museum.
Images and textual information require all the sensitivity as artefacts. We tend to believe that not everything is for everyone #openadjacent
In 2014 @aucklandmuseum released He aratohu mō te tono i ngā whakaahua Māori, a guide to requesting Māori images: aucklandmuseum.com/discover/colle…
