New Zealand pounamu (greenstone)

To Maori, pounamu is a taonga, a treasure, and the nephrite from the rivers of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) was worked into the adze, the mere club and the hei-tiki, carrying mana down generations. By the 1997 settlement, all naturally occurring pounamu belongs to Ngai Tahu, so taking it is not permitted, and that is right. Buy carved pounamu from Maori carvers on the West Coast; the rivers are the treasure and the tradition, not a free dig.