Tangata o le Moana: People Of The Pacific Ocean
Tangata o le Moana, meaning ‘People of the Pacific Ocean’, are the diverse indigenous communities of the Pacific island nations. Tūhura Otago Museum houses one of the world’s largest and most significant collections of Pacific artefacts, each of which carries a story of the innovation, arts, industry and lives of the island community from which it came. These rich cultural identities of Tangata o le Moana are celebrated at Tūhura Otago Museum through exhibitions displaying treasures from the different islands and programmes that give local Pasifika community voice to those.
Pasifika Projects
The Museum’s growing relationships with Tangata o le Moana in Dunedin sees support focused on community inspired and driven projects. A 2025 tatau initiative by So’o ula o Samoa saw the Museum host a programme of traditional tattooing. Beyond Dunedin, Tūhura outreach has seen science education showcases delivered in Niue, Samoa and the Cook Islands, exploring topics such as climate change, traditional medicines and community resilience.
Pacific Language Weeks
Supporting Pacific Language Weeks in Dunedin, Tūhura Otago Museum partners with local Tangata o le Moana communities to promote awareness and celebrate the cultures of the different island nations. Initiatives have included providing space for cultural practices such as a kava ceremony for Vosa Vaka Viti Fijian language week, storeroom visits connecting communities with collections, and temporary displays of community selected artefacts.
These special showcases celebrate the Pacific’s unique languages and cultures, collaborations in which Tangata o le Moana in Dunedin reconnect with their heritage, contribute their expertise, and enrich the Museum’s knowledge.
Pasifika Exhibitions
The Pacific Cultures Gallery is the main display of Tangata o le Moana treasures. Developed in the 1960s the artefacts are arranged along mostly anthropological groupings of the islands of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. The Melanesia gallery was refreshed in 2010. Named after the Museum’s famous anthropologist and past director responsible for significant collecting of Pacific treasures, the H.D. Skinner Hall of Polynesia is being redeveloped in 2025.
This involves community-engaged curation with cultural leaders and knowledge holders from each Tangata o le Moana community here in Dunedin helping guide the selection of artefacts displayed and stories told of respective islands.