Via the Field Museum Facebook:
“Recently the Māori All Blacks flew in from New Zealand for Rugby Day at Soldier Field. Before the big game, they performed a private jersey presentation ceremony in Ruatepupuke, the Māori Meeting House on the Museum's second floor. As part of the preparation for the visit Luke Crawford, Kaumātua Māori (Māori Cultural Advisor) for the All Blacks, performed karakia—a ceremony to help maintain the spiritual value of the house—and gave a gift of paua abalone shells for use in the continued conservation of the distinctive eyes on the carved ancestor panels.
Our staff are honored to make frequent visits to New Zealand to consult with Māori elders and community advisers with whom the Field co-manages the house—one of only three such Māori meeting houses outside of New Zealand.”
