This book argues for an important shift in cultural heritage conservation, away from a focus on maintaining the physical fabric of material culture toward the impact that conservation work has on people’s lives. In doing so, it challenges the commodification of sacred objects and places by western conservation thought and attempts to decolonize conservation practice. To do so, the authors examine conservation activities at Maori marae—meeting houses—located in the US, Germany, and England and contrasts them with changes in marae conservation in New Zealand. A key case study is the Hinemihi meeting house, transported to England in the 1890s where it was treated as a curiosity by visitors to Clandon Park for over a century, and more recently as a focal point of cultural activity for UK Maori communities. Recent efforts to include various Maori stakeholder communities in the care of this sacred structure is a key example of community based conservation that can be replicated in heritage practice around the world.
Edited by:
Dean Sully
Imprint: Left Coast Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 14mm
Weight: 362g
ISBN: 9781598743104
ISBN 10: 1598743104
Series: UCL Institute of Archaeology Critical Cultural Heritage Series
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 15 February 2008
Audience:
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Children's (6-12)
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Part 1 Setting the Scene; chapter0 Introduction, Dean Sully; Chapter 1 Colonising and Conservation, Dean Sully; Part 2 A View from Aotearoa; Chapter 2 The Protection of Taonga and Mäori Heritage in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Arapata Hakiwai; Chapter 3 Conserving Living Taonga: The Concept of Continuity, Gamini Wijesuriya; Chapter 4 Marae Conservation in Aotearoa, James Schuster, Dean Whiting; Part 3 Conserving Expatriate Meeting Houses; Chapter 5 Ruatepupuke II, the Field Museum, Chicago: The Past and Possible Future, John Edward Terrell, Désirée CJ Wisse, Christopher J Philipp; Chapter 6 The Care of Living Objects: Conserving Rauru and te Wharepuni a Maui in Germany, Eva Garbutt-; Part 4 Hinemihi; Chapter 7 Introductionducing Hinemihi, Dean Sully, Alan Gallop; Chapter 8 The National Trust and Hinemihi at Clandon Park, Julie DeLong Lawlor, Katy Lithgow; Chapter 9 Hinemihi and the London Mäori Community, Karl Burrows; Poem: So Who Invited Tu?, Rosanna Raymond; Chapter 10 Hinemihi and Ngäti (Tribe) Hinemihi, James Schuster; Chapter 11 Hinemihi’s Return: A Legal Opinion, Kathryn Last; Chapter 12 Conserving Hinemihi at Clandon Park, UK, Dean Sully, Isabel Pombo Cardoso; Part 5 Conclusions; Chapter 13 Decolonising Hinemihi and Conservation Practice, Dean Sully;
Dean Sully is Lecture in Conservation at University College London Institute of Archaeology and National Trust Advisor for the Conservation of Archaeological Artefacts. He previously served as conservator at the National Heritage Board Singapore, Museum of London, and the British Museum. Sully is author of over 15 articles on conservation topics.
Reviews for Decolonizing Conservation: Caring for Maori Meeting Houses outside New Zealand
The authors are congratulated on producing an engaging and well-illustrated volume which will simultaneously be of interest to those involved in the care of marae and other aspects of Maori heritage (both within and outside of New Zealand), as well as those of us with an interest in the ways in which an indigenous and post-colonial critique is transforming contemporary heritage practice in the modern world. -Rodney Harrison, Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites
