The Taumata-ā-Iwi is responsible for the provision of advice and assistance to the Trust Board in a series of matters set out in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996. The Taumata-ā-Iwi was founded upon the principle of mana whenua (customary authority of and over ancestral land), and comprises Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa and Tainui.

Taumata-ā-Iwi

Principles

+Guiding Principles

To continue to foster a beneficial relationship as envisaged by the Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996, the Trust Board and the Taumata-ā-Iwi acknowledge the following:

1. The Trust Board acts in the interest of the Museum at all times.

2. The Trust Board exercises trusteeship over the Museum / Te Papa Whakahiku, and all treasures and trusts within its care.

3. The Trust Board recognises the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi.

4. The Trust Board recognises the principle of mana whenua with regard to Te Papa Whakahiku and its taonga.

5. The Trust Board recognises the principle of mana whenua in making appointments to the Taumata-ā-Iwi.

6. The Trust Board and Taumata-ā-Iwi have trusteeship obligations toward ngā iwi o te motu.

7. The Trust Board will seek advice from the Taumata-ā-Iwi on ways of ensuring that the Board's policies relating to:

I. Custodial policies and guardianship of all Māori taonga of whatever kind and tribal source;

II. Staffing policies, including taking affirmative action in recruitment and training programmes, which will lead Māori people into professional careers in New Zealand´s bicultural museums;

III. Display policies, including presentation of Māori taonga to the public in a culturally appropriate and informative manner; and

IV. Development policies, including protection of both the substance and status of Māori taonga in any Museum plan; give proper regard to Māori values, and those matters provided for in the Treaty of Waitangi.

8. The Trust Board recognises the right of the Taumata-ā-Iwi to give advice on all matters of Māori protocol. 

9. The Trust Board recognises the value of a direct relationship with the Taumata-ā-Iwi, and will encourage hui where that is identified as being appropriate.

10. In giving effect to its special relationship with the Taumata-ā-Iwi, the Trust Board recognises the following principles:

I. The right of the Taumata-ā-Iwi to advise the Trust Board;

II. The principle of partnership;

III. The principle of Trusteeship;

IV. Active protection to ensure physical and cultural safety;

V. Resolution of past misunderstandings.

11. Where the Trust Board requests or the Taumata-ā-Iwi provides formal advice to the Trust Board, that request or advice shall be in writing and shall clearly state:

I. The grounds for that advice;

II. Any alternative means or options required or available;

III. Whether, and on what basis, recommendations are to be made; and

IV. The implications of not accepting the advice.

12. The Trust Board recognises that the Tumuaki Māori Director has a dual role with respect to the Trust Board and the Taumata-ā-Iwi:

I. As a member of executive management reporting through the Director to the Trust Board;

II. As a provider of services and advice to the Taumata-ā-Iwi, and consulting with it on such other matters as are delegated to the Tumuaki Māori from time to time by the Director.

+Governance Principles

Principle I:

The right to advise

The Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996 empowers the Taumata-ā-Iwi to give advice on all matters of Māori protocol within the Museum and between the Museum and Māori people at large.  Museum policies will reflect the aspirations of both Treaty partners by acknowledging that existing and proposed policies will be reviewed by the Taumata-ā-Iwi, and recommendations to the Auckland Museum Trust Board will be made accordingly. 

Principle II:

Partnership

Both the Auckland Museum Trust Board and the Taumata-ā-Iwi will act reasonably and in the utmost good faith by observing and encouraging the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi.  The Trust Board recognises the Taumata-ā-Iwi's cultural responsibility to wider Māori regarding any implications of mana Māori (lore of the Māori) as measured by mana whenua and associated obligations of manaakitanga (providing hospitality to visitors) or kaitiakitanga (cultural management and protection of taonga and resources) including Māori cultural, intellectual and commercial property rights, and will seek advice and direction in all such cases as they arise.

Principle III:

Māori expectations

The Museum recognises the right of all Māori to expect the Taumata-ā-Iwi, on their behalf as the recognised kaitiaki of the Museum, to:

(i) monitor the management, custody, care, display, accessibility and development of their taonga within the Museum

(ii) facilitate repatriation of all whakapakoko, uru moko and koiwi.

Principle IV:

Active protection

The Taumata-ā-Iwi will provide advice to the Auckland Museum Trust Board, and the Trust Board will protect the Taumata-ā-Iwi by ensuring the rights of Māori in the Museum are protected, in kaitiakitanga terms, by:

(i) safeguarding mana whenua and the lore of Māori 

(ii) safeguarding the tapu (spiritual restrictions) of the Museum's war shrines

(iii) providing appropriate management, custody, care, display, accessibility and development of all taonga

(iv) providing all staff and visitors with a culturally safe environment

(v) taking affirmative action in recruitment, training and educational (primary, secondary and tertiary) programmes, which will lead Māori people into professional careers in New Zealand's culturally integrated Museums.

Principle V:

Redress for past misunderstanding

The Auckland Museum Trust Board acknowledges that there may be misunderstandings from the past related to taonga that need to be addressed and that there is a responsibility to seek advice from the Taumata-ā-Iwi, and to:

(i) objectively explore and assess each example as it comes to light 

(ii) put in place practices that minimise and eliminate future needs for redress.

+Taumata-ā-Iwi Kaupapa

Taumata-ā-Iwi Kaupapa

He whakarapopoto tēnei o ngā Kaupapa a Te Taumata-ā-Iwi ki te whakatū he huarahi ki te tūtuki pai i ngā wawata mō ngā iwi Māori ō te motu.

Ko Te Taumata-ā-Iwi te komiti matua mo ngā take Māori katoa i roto i a Tāmaki Paenga Hira. Ko rātou ā Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa, a Tainui ngā mana ō te whenua. Ko Te Taumata-ā-Iwi nga kaitiaki mō ngā take Māori i roto i te whare taonga ō Tamaki.

Kaupapa I:

Tohutohu

Mā Te Taumata-ā-Iwi hei tohutohu i ngā tikanga Māori mō Te Whare Taonga ki waenga i te Whare Taonga me ngā Iwi Māori whānui.

Kaupapa II:

Whakahoahoa

Mā te Tiriti o Waitangi hei whakahoahoa i Te Whare Taonga ki Te Taumata-ā-Iwi mō ngā take Māori.

Kaupapa III:

Ngā Tūmanako Māori

Ka tau Te Whare Taonga i ngā tūmanako a nga iwi Māori, me te tūranga ā Te Taumata ā Iwi hei kaitiaki mō ngā take e whai ake nei:
(i) te tiakitanga ō ngā taonga i roto i te Whare Taonga.
(ii) he huarahi mo te hokinga ō ngā whakapaakoko, ngā uru moko, me ngā koiwi ki te wā kainga.

Kaupapa IV:

Kaitiakitanga

Te Tiakitanga ō te mana ā ngā iwi Māori mā runga i ngā ahuatanga nei:
(i) te tiakitanga ō te mana ō te whenua, me ngā tikanga Māori.
(ii) te tiakitanga ō ngā wāhi tapu o Tumatauenga.
(iii) kia pupuri tika i nga taonga katoa.
(iv) kia whai waahi tika mō ngā kaimahi me ngā manuhiri.
(v) kia whai turanga, akoranga, mātauranga mō ngā uri Māori.

Kaupapa V:

Te Whakatikatika i Nga He

Ma te Whare Taonga hei whai tohuohu mai Te Taumata-ā-Iwi ki te whakatikatika i ngā he no mua:
(i) kia whakawetewete i ngā take kia tika ai.
(ii) whai huarahi mo apopo kia kore ngā hē kia puta anō.