Abstract:
This paper examines a history of vandalism of Māori art by a range of actors: missionaries, soldiers, museum directors, artists and religious zealots. The main focus is on Māori carvings in museums and in situ, as well as rock art sites. It presents an Indigenous perspective on their acts, and asks what were the motivations for the censorship of Māori carvings? What is the relationship to the process of colonisation? And finally, what is the significance of these acts for Māori today?