Emily Rangitiaria SchusterOBE QSM (néeHicks, 12 January 1927 – 5 September 1997) was a New Zealand masterweaver ofTe Arawa descent.[1]
Born in 1927 inRotorua, Schuster was the niece ofRangitiaria Dennan, better known as Guide Rangi.[2][3] She married Bob Schuster in 1950,[4] and the couple had six children.[5] Her twin daughters Dawn Smith andEdna Pahewa became weaving tutors and experts.[6] She lived all her life in Rotorua.[3]
Schuster was the convenor of theAotearoa Moananui a Kiwa Weavers Committee since its inception in 1983, and was the weaving representative onTe Waka Toi's Māori Art Committee.[3]
Schuster founded the weaving school at theNew Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, in 1969.[7] Her daughter, Edna Pahewa, is the school's current head.[8] In 1988, Schuster andDiggeress Te Kanawa were awarded a travel grant to visittaonga kept in museums in the United Kingdom and United States. Schuster represented Aotearoa at a conservation conference in Brazil.[3] Schuster continued to travel and teach until her death in 1993.[9]
Daena Walker writes that Schuster has been "acknowledged internationally as one of the most gifted weavers of her generation. Her contribution to the art of Māori weaving and her knowledge of kaitiakitanga, particularly the cultivation and conservation of harakeke (flax) and its origins, has ensured the survival of this craft today."[10][11]
In the1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Schuster was awarded theQueen's Service Medal for community service.[12] In 1993, she was awarded theNew Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[13] She was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to Māori arts and crafts, in the1994 Queen's Birthday Honours.[14]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) | This article about a New Zealand artist is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This biographical article relating to aMāori person is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
