New $5.7 million fund to help Māori protect taonga on marae

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, says Māori taonga and knowledge needs to be protected for future.

A new $5.7 million contestable fund has been launched to support Māori to protect marae taonga.

The Mātauranga Māori Marae Ora is part of a wider $20m programme annnounced in December to support indigenous arts from the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced the new fund on Tuesday, saying already dwindling mātauranga (Māori knowledge) and taonga held on marae were at further risk because of the increasing financial impact of the pandemic.

The fund is one of 18 initiatives introduced to support iwi, hapū and Māori communities to safeguard mātauranga Māori and protect indigenous knowledge.

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“Whakapapa and cultural identity for tangata whenua are held within marae across the motu (country),” Sepuloni said.

“Marae also play an integral part in preserving the cultural vitality of Māori and Aotearoa as a whole.”

That identity was unique to the world, and it needed to be protected for future generations, she said.

The funding will support marae-based projects like the development of conservation plans for whare and wharenui arts, the establishment of harvest areas for cultural materials such as pā harakeke and tōtara, and the preservation of taonga such as waka tīwai, korowai and photographs.

Funding will also be available to create archives, small whare taonga, or publications.

“Ahikaa marae communities have always been the keepers of mātauranga Māori and the kaitiaki of taonga.”

The fund – to be administered by Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs – would help communities continue their efforts to conserve their cultural heritage, Sepuloni said.