Click here to contact the
Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust
Advice on the origin of designs, and the
appropriate Rūnaka or Māori Regional Council to contact,
can by sought through the Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust.
The Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust supports the right of
indigenous people worldwide to own and control their cultural and
intellectual property. This right is one of many that are central to the
self-determination of indigenous groups. It is formally acknowledged in
documents such as the United Nations Draft Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, 1993, and the Mataatua Declaration, 1993.
Please click below to view the above documents.
Māori Independence Site
The misappropriation and exploitation of cultural property
such as oral traditions, designs and art through unauthorised
use or sale rarely benefit the groups to whom these traditions
rightfully belong. There is also a high risk of misinterpretation when
groups who may not understand the wider cultural context
of these traditions use the cultural property of others.
In New Zealand Māori rock art designs have been used in
marketing for many years. Rock art has featured on a number
of items including tea towels, stamps, and t-shirts. The Ngāi Tahu
Māori Rock Art Trust advocates for the respectful and informed use of
rock art images, and asks that the permission and guidance of
the kaitiaki Rūnaka or Regional Māori Council authority
is sought in all proposed uses.
