Global colonization has led to the acquisition of indigenous artefacts that are stored in museums in many countries. Colonizers perhaps underestimate the power, mana and wairua that many of these artefacts hold. Why is this important? Indigenous artefacts and knowledge have been systematically taken from indigenous folk over the years (Brown and Nicholas, 2012). Their mana has not been preserved, and these artifacts are sitting in museums globally, sometimes with incorrect information on the item description (Ellis et al., 2023). Many artefacts have not been returned to the indigenous societies they’ve come from, however the artefacts are also not necessarily accessible by the original owner.
Digitizing Artifacts - Will the real content…
Global colonization has led to the acquisition of indigenous artefacts that are stored in museums in many countries. Colonizers perhaps underestimate the power, mana and wairua that many of these artefacts hold. Why is this important? Indigenous artefacts and knowledge have been systematically taken from indigenous folk over the years (Brown and Nicholas, 2012). Their mana has not been preserved, and these artifacts are sitting in museums globally, sometimes with incorrect information on the item description (Ellis et al., 2023). Many artefacts have not been returned to the indigenous societies they’ve come from, however the artefacts are also not necessarily accessible by the original owner.