Te Ara Cook Islands Museum of Cultural Enterprise — Attraction in Ngatangiia

Visited Te Ara - Cook Islands Museum of Cultural Enterprise (NZ$15) and was amazed to see knowledge recontextualised through Pasifikan eyes. By mapping language, the museum is able to show all Pasifikan people originated in Taiwan, replacing stories of South American ancestry.

While Europeans were hugging shorelines two thousand years ago, Pasifikan navigators were sailing into the unknown and populating the Pasifikan islands, creating top-down navigation charts and mapping currents and islands on bamboo frames. Mapping from a European perspective is done from the deck of the boat using stars and angles, while Pasifikan navigators viewed the map from above looking down at the relative position of each island.

In the second half of the small museum, the impacts of missionaries, their diseases, slavery (blackbirding) and colonisation are laid bare as you travel through time and wave after wave of oppression suppressing the knowledge and way of life of the Cook Islanders. It is hard to walk out of there without feeling ashamed that you come from people who acted with such cruelty, subjecting the Pasifikan peoples to exploitation, false gods, racism and a totally misguided sense of being superior in all things. This museum made me glad that we’re now hearing the voices of the peoples our ancestors spoke over coming though loud and clear....

A basic museum that shows the history of the settlement of Rarotonga and its colonial status til today. Informative with lots of pictures and a few artifacts. Probably not super interesting for children as there's no activities and it's a short visit. There's a decent cafe on site and a variety of local art and souvenirs for sale. Pricer than some of the souvenirs you see at the markets but it's all guaranteed local and quality made. Last time I visited I bought a dyed shirt made by a local women's collective. There's an ANZ ATM out front which is...

Very interesting museum that deserves a visit and time spent there. There is plenty of information regarding the history and culture of Cook Islands and Polynesian nations in general: where they came from, their travels and colonisation of the Pacific Islands, later European colonisation, up to current times and nowadays issues. After the visit you can jump to their small souvenir shop and cafe. If you are into learning more about the country you visit and its people, this museum is a good...