Anonymised Data is a western perspective for data that is anonymous as they human eye can’t see where the data came from, who the data is about and where the data originated from. From A Te Ao Māori (traditional Māori cultural perspective) anonymous Māori Data that originates from Māori Data, then that anonymous data is still Māori Data and is still a Taonga as it contains a Whakapapa and, mātauranga and a Mauri.
In the WAI 2522 decision, the Waitangi tribunal found that any Māori Data that has mātauranga is a Taonga. From both a Western and a Māori perspective, all data must have an origin and a purpose, hence from a Māori perspective and as found by the Waitangi Tribunal, all anonymous data that uses Māori Data is both Māori Data and a Taonga as it contains mātauranga Māori.
The only way Māori Data can claim to not contain Mauri is if a special cultural ceremony is performed over the data removing the any mauri. These cultural ceremonies usually involves water, smoke from a fire and karakia. Noting that to remove a mauri from Māori Data is not possible unless there is a stand-alone server that is not connected to the Internet or any other device and or server, without damaging the hardware. Regardless, the Māori data will still in the very least have a whakapapa, hence mātauranga that is not seen by the human eye, but it still exists.
Examples of colonial thinking that our pre colonial data is erased or anonymised include the following:
Inter-racial children from mixed marriages: Māori are still Māori if they have a whakapapa Māori. We don’t have blood quantum.
Graffiti over and modern day land denying the existence of Ngāi Tahu rock art: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Burnt carvings by arsonists and missionaries and decayed carvings: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Carvings in swamps: Hidden from colonisers: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Broken carvings by missionaries: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Whakatauāki, waiata that are cryptic and often not translated by the majority: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Taonga in museums that still don’t know what they are: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Place names with no common knowledge of the meaning: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Images of moko (used without perpetual permission) that have no apparent meaning to the masses: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
Images of tipuna whose names are lost to history: Origins and meanings unknown from a western perspective, but whakapapa, mauri and Māori storied still have the knowledge.
All of the above still have mātauranga, mauri and a whakapapa. From a traditional tikanga perspective, all data still has a mauri and whakapapa. It is only through non traditional Māori eyes and thinking that such data does not have a mauri, whakapapa and therefore an identity.
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