When it all goes according to script, no Scripps...
In July, the author visited Scripps College to present to the current ARHI 162: Art of the Pacific Voyage (2026) cohort of students, as well as being invited to observe one of these students, Avery London, give a class report regarding my historical and technical report that the author produced about a patu onewa that is now in the collection of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College. It is always humbling to see your work studied and reviewed by students anywhere, much less on the other side of the world, and the author was impressed with Avery's presentation as well as his pronunciation of Maori words and terms. As a sign of respect, the author gifted Avery a neck ornament that he had woven from harakeke (New Zealand flax) the year before. The author presented on his historical and technical reports, focussing on the specific report about the patu onewa in their collection, and then finishing by mentioning the Uhengaparaoa Taonga Tuku Iho: Ancestral Gifts and Contemporary Maori Art exhibition that was o open that weekend at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, that he had co-curated. Another wonderful experience at Scripps and it was fantastic to see the students attend the art exhibition at UCLA. It was also fantastic to meet Dr Erin Curtis, who is the kaitiaki (custodian) of the patu onewa at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery of which she is Director. Shout out to the Red-tailed hawk that visited as a tohu.
A year earlier, on April 21, the author had been invited to Scripps as the 2025 O'Brien Lectureship Endowed Visitor, to present to the ARHI 164 SC Australia / Aotearoa New Zealand: Unsettling Art Histories (2025) cohort of students, where he presented regarding his journal article Hongi Hika: A Portrait published in the Journal of Museum Ethnography (June 2019) and a trio of carved wooden busts of renowned Maori chief Hongi Hika. This included a screening of his short film Hongi's Hikoi: A Trio of Travellers and he also demonstrated how to weave flowers from harakeke leaves. Lastly, he examined a patu onewa that had been held by the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery. As a result of the author's examination and production of the historical and technical report, the patu onewa was formally accessioned into their collections. At the end of the semester, Tara Attanasio, a student from the 2025 cohort wrote an article about the author's visit and how that impacted the way in which the students comprehend aspects of Te Ao Maori, and how they view the place of the patu onewa here at their college.
The author also gave a public lecture that evening titled Impactful Research, where he outlined several research projects he had completed and pointed out the impacts these had made in different arenas.
The author would like to acknowledge Dr Julia Lum for facilitating these opportunities and for her commitment to her students and academia, her initial invitation has led to the inclusion of recent indigenous resources within Scripps' courses and the formal accession of a taonga into the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery.
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