Teenagers laughing on a boat. Palmtrees and the sea can be seen in the background

In November 2017 media producer Kate Whitley joined a Te Papa expedition to Tokelau. Reflecting on her journey, Kate explores the photos of Glenn Jowitt in our collection and talks with Paula Faiva about growing up in Tokelau and the importance of the inati (equal portions) system that underpins island life.Read more

Pacific Cultures curator Rachel Yates, highlights the work and initiatives of Tokelauan community group, Te Lauhigano Tokelau from Porirua, New Zealand. The Tokelauan population in New Zealand is significant; the last census details from 2006 inform us that Tokelauans are the sixth largest Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand.  6,819Read more

This week is the inaugural Tokelau Language Week (29 October – 4 November). The theme is Ke mau ki pale o Tokelau: Hold fast to the treasures of Tokelau. To celebrate, the Pacific Cultures team will post a blog each day highlighting cultural treasures from Tokelau in Te Papa’s collections.Read more

Wooden box

Since Senior Curator Pacific Cultures Sean Mallon began working with the Te Papa collections in the early 1990s, he has admired the tuluma of Tokelau (fishing boxes). Tuluma is the name given to wooden boxes that are used to carry fishing gear in canoes or as storage containers in theRead more

A few months ago we received a rather unusual loan request, on the surface the request looked quite straight forward however on closer inspection  it was going to be rather challenging. First of all the Community Mafutaga Tupulaga Tokelau Porirua had asked if they could borrow some of the TokelauanRead more