Abstract
In 2019, the collector Mr Al Mannering decided to repatriate his collection 78 taonga Māori to Ngāti Tahinga (Waikato-Tainui) and this study investigates his motivation, and the impact the repatriation had on the parties involved: Ngāti Tahinga, Waikato Museum and the Mannering family. It does so in the context of anecdotal evidence that private individuals are increasingly returning taonga Māori to museums at rates not before seen. The research undertakes an indigenous archaeological framework of multiple contexts and therefore investigates the scholarly understandings of taonga Māori for four groups: Māori, collectors, archaeologists and museums. Through interviews with representatives of the four groups who were party to the repatriation to Ngāti Tahinga, with the researcher positioned as a descendent member of Ngāti Tahinga as well as an archaeology student, the research finds that all of the groups underwent a change of attitude towards the taonga in the Waikāretu Collection. Additional positive effects for relationships within their own cohort are established, and for Ngāti Tahinga in particular, the repatriation provided a tangible connection to ancestors.