‘Ngā Matatiki Mātauranga: Māori collections and libraries, Tikanga ways of being’

Abstract

There is trauma in how Indigenous knowledge collections in libraries are managed. This paper seeks to understand the Māori context of Indigenous knowledges management in library collections. A review of selected library policies regarding collection development and specifically Māori collection content will be explored using Mead’s Tikanga Test (2003). From this analysis will be inferred the ways in which Pākehā (Non-Māori/Non-Indigenous persons) manage Indigenous knowledges in culturally-unsafe ways, followed by a best practices guide for culturally-safe management of Indigenous collections. This will draw from a Māori perspective, in Aotearoa-New Zealand as this paper draws upon a kaupapa Māori framework. The framework will drive the findings to tell the story of Indigenous collections in Aotearoa and how best to distinguish our futures.