Charles Sneiderman and Connie Lawn, AudioVideo News, Washington
More than 70 Maori artworks are on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is sponsoring Tuku Iho Living Legacy together with The Coralyn W Whitney Science Education Center and the US New Zealand Embassy.
The week-long exhibit opened with a drumming welcome by the Piscataway Nation, indigenous people of the Washington area. The son of the chief pointed out that the land occupied by the museum on the National Mall in Washington is built on what was once covered by the waters of the Potomac River and that water unites the peoples of the world. There will be Kapa Haka performances and demonstrations of Ta Moko tattoo throughout the week. As part of the closing ceremony on July 30, the 20-foot waka canoe at the heart of the Tuku Iho program with freshly carved side strakes, bow, and stern will be gifted to the Smithsonian by New Zealand ambassador Tim Groser. Carved from a single totara tree, the waka has been created in Awanui, Northland at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) Te Tapuwae o te Waka (The National Canoe School).