He Pūnaha Ora: Digital Collections as Living Ecosystems
Aleisha Amohia, Chris Cormack, Te Wainui Witika-Park
LIANZA 2025, Te Whanganui-a-Tara
He Pūnaha Ora
- Whakapapa of Collections
- Digital Sovereignty as Environmental Practice
- Intergenerational Collection Care
- Aleisha Amohia (she/her)
- Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Hāua, Cambodia, India
- Rōpū kohinga Technical Lead, Catalyst IT
- Victoria University of Wellington – BSc & BCom
aleisha@catalyst.net.nz
Ko wai au?
- Te Wainui Witika-Park (she/her)
- Te Ātiawa, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Pāoa
- Rōpū kohinga Developer, Catalyst IT
- Victoria University of Wellington – BSc
- Low vision
wainuiwitikapark@catalyst.net.nz
Ko wai au?
- Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe
- Nō Moeraki ahau
- One of the original Koha developers
- Kaihuawaere Matihiko at Catalyst IT
- Board member at Tohatoha (previously Creative Commons Aotearoa)
- Former board member National Digital Forum
- He Māwhitiwhiti ki te Kākahu o Hine-Raraunga at Te Kāhui Raraunga
chrisc@catalyst.net.nz
Ko wai au?
Māori Data Governance Framework - Values
Māori Data Governance Framework - 8 Pou
Māori Data Governance Framework - Outcomes
- The right service, at the right time, in the right way
- Better shared and autonomous decision-making
- A trusted and safe data ecosystem
- Data to drive iwi-Māori economies
- Supporting whānau to flourish
- Reaffirming and strengthening connections to identity, place and te reo Māori
Whakapapa of collections
Pou 8: Data classification
Whakapapa of collections
Pou 3: Data collection
Whakapapa of collections
Pou 5: Data access, sharing and repatriation
Digital sovereignty as environmental practice
Pou 2: Data infrastructure
Digital sovereignty as environmental practice
Pou 6: Data use and reuse
Digital sovereignty as environmental practice
Pou 7: Data quality and system integrity
Intergenerational collection care
Pou 1: Data capacities and workforce development
Intergenerational collection care
Pou 4: Data protection
Intergenerational collection care
Pou 5: Data access, sharing, and repatriation
Decolonisation of collections
Whakapapa of collections
Digital sovereignty as environmental practice
Intergenerational collection care
Further reading
- Māori Data Governance Model (Te Kāhui Raraunga)
- Principles of Māori Data Sovereignty (Te Mana Raraunga)
- Data sovereignty in Aotearoa: Navigating how to protect our digital taonga (Catalyst)
- Understanding Indigenous data sovereignty (IDSov) (Catalyst)
- Preserving Indigenous collections with modern technology (Catalyst)
- CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (Global Indigenous Data Alliance)
Ngā mihi
- Aleisha Amohia
aleisha@catalyst.net.nz - Chris Cormack
chrisc@catalyst.net.nz - Te Wainui Witika-Park
wainuiwitikapark@catalyst.net.nz
He Pūnaha Ora: Digital Collections as Living Ecosystems
By aleisha
He Pūnaha Ora: Digital Collections as Living Ecosystems
Aleisha Amohia, Chris Cormack, and Te Wainui Witika-Park at LIANZ 2025 In te ao Māori, collections are not static repositories but living ecosystems with whakapapa, mauri, and relationships requiring ongoing nurturing. This presentation explores how digital collection infrastructures can embody ecological principles from tikanga Māori, transforming our understanding of what it means to be kaitiaki of digital taonga. Our presentation will address three interconnected dimensions: • Whakapapa of Collections: Reimagining metadata as extensions of whakapapa, ensuring digital collections maintain connections to their cultural origins and communities • Digital Sovereignty as Environmental Practice: Implementing data sovereignty principles that align with environmental values • Intergenerational Collection Care: Applying te ao Māori frameworks to create systems where caring for digital taonga becomes a collective, intergenerational responsibility. Drawing from our work with iwi, cultural institutions, and international Indigenous communities, we examine how environmental sustainability and Te Tiriti obligations may be woven into the very architecture of our digital preservation practices.
