Report from sessions at LIANZA conference

Judith Waaka also attended the LIANZA conference - here is an article about some of the sessions she attended.

“He tangata, he tangata, he tangata”
Acknowlege the past, embrace the present and advance the future.

LIANZA conference 2009 opened with keynote speakers Sir Tipene and Hana O’Regan, the father and daughter duo presented a humorous and personalised approach to the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. The banter between the two really captured the audience.

They spoke about both the processes and tools used to transmit knowledge from pre-European times to early settlement of the British through to post treaty times. Traditionally knowledge was shared through oral traditions such as mōteatea, karakia, stories and practises like maintaining tribal boundaries, survival and whakapapa. There were a number of comparisons made about the relationship between the accelerating extinction of languages and loss of traditional knowledge.

Traditional knowledge was once used as a means for physical survival as whānau, hapū and iwi in terms of food, shelter and warfare. In modern times we use our knowledge to maintain the survival of our identity as Māori people for things like proving our traditional land use rights and mana whenua.


From “We shall remain” to “Operation teen book drop”:new national indigenous library services initiatives

Presented by Loriene Roy and Scott Alan Smith

This presentation was really enjoyable as it focussed on Indigenous library services.

Loriene and Scott spoke about We Shall Remain, a series of DVD’s about American Indian history. I’ve put in a suggestion for purchase for the DVD series and I’m looking forward to requesting it when it comes in!

Of particular interest was the event kit for libraries which gave a number of tips on developing indigenous library events and programmes, relating the events to the libraries collections. The event kit is available in pdf format.


Ngā ūpoko tukutuku – Advancing the future
Our own Collections Librarian – Māori Teri Ta’ala was one of the presenters for this session. Participants were asked how we could develop the Māori Subject Headings faster. Suggestions were made about hiring someone full time to work on the project and looking at other funding avenues to resource the project rather than relying on just LIANZA, Te Rōpū Whakahau and National Library.

Another question raised was about the scope of the project and whether it should be broadened allowing te reo Māori access to everything in the library. The general consensus was that most agreed to the broadening of the scope, however they weren’t sure if it was achievable

I enjoyed the workshop as it gave me a better understanding about where the project is up to and what the constraints are to completing it.