Dr Amber Aranui (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) has a special job. As a researcher for the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme at Te Papa Museum, she has spent the past 10 and a half years searching the world for our tūpuna, and working to bring them home.
The bones and body parts of some of our ancestors are in museums, universities and private collections. Old. Young. Tāne. Wāhine.
Amber’s mahi is to find them, learn about how they came to be there, investigate who they are, then try to reunite them with their descendants. It isn’t an easy job, but it is an important one. And is one that gives her a lot of fulfilment.
In this episode we talk about the history of ‘scientific research’ on Māori and Moriori, Amber shares some of the emotional realities of her mahi and, she teaches us about the issues related to repatriation.
Don’t want to miss the next NUKU100 podcast and image series? Sign up to our newsletter and we will deliver the link direct to your inbox. You can also subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, just search for ‘NUKU’.
