Matakitenga project

This project explores how digital narratives of tohunga can be curated to support and enrich the multiliteracies of ākonga, particularly in Te Tai Tokerau. At its heart, Tohunga Talks is a collaborative digital storytelling initiative grounded in Te Tai Tokerau mātauranga tuku iho, Kaupapa Māori research approaches, and the Mana Model.

Street design in Aotearoa has had limited involvement from iwi, hapū and Māori hāpori to date and yet streets are everywhere, they connect us to each other, they are communication channels and spaces and places to engage with others. What then might a Māori street look and feel like?

Sea level rise is threatening many marae and coastal cultural sites across Te Tai o Araiteuru. Yet existing climate models are complex and often not locally relevant or easy to understand. This project created a dynamic, culturally grounded 3D visualisation of the Otago coastline, integrating Kāi Tahu cultural data with environmental modelling to support hapū and marae in making inter-generational climate decisions.

Indigenous histories are held in archives—but often without the authority of the people they belong to. This project pilots the use of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels within ArchSite, Aotearoa’s national archaeological database, to return cultural control and visibility to Ngā Hapū o Waimarama.

Inspired by an ancient mōteatea and grounded in the living whenua of Ngāti Porou, He Uru Mānuka is a creative cultural mapping project breathing new life into ancestral knowledge. As climate shifts reshape the Waiapu River, we pair traditional practice with modern technologies to document, protect, and uplift the mauri of the land, the waters, and the stories in between.

Māori (and Indigenous) women engage in embodied relationship with the natural environment in a range of ways, such as raranga, rongoā, or physical activity. This research explored what these embodied relationships can teach us about the potential for reciprocal healing between wahine and whenua, person and place, by developing a network of Māori and Indigenous women and prioritising mātauranga wāhine.