What are the distinctive dimensions and drivers of innovative Māori leadership and integrated decision making, and how do these characteristics deliver pluralistic outcomes that advance transformative and prosperous Māori economies of wellbeing?

A diverse range of Māori leadership practices have contributed to the development of a Māori economy with a current estimated asset base of $42.6 billion, yet the role of mātauranga and tikanga Māori within leadership practices is poorly understood.

Intern: Jovan Mokaraka-Harris

Supervisor: Wendy Henwood

SHORE & Whariki Reseach Centre

College of Health, Massey University

This summer internship project uses Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS – ‘drone’) technologies to record images within the Tapuwae block. The purpose of this research is to examine future possibilities of cultural mapping, observe environmental links and monitoring environmental change.

Intern: Te Okahurangi Ngahana-Hartley

Supervisor: Drs Rangi Matamua and Hēmi Whaanga

The University of Waikato

What is the pedagogy of pūrākau, and how does it operate as an Indigenous story work approach to advance kaupapa Māori research and innovative contributions to broader research and pedagogical processes within Aotearoa?

Given this is a scoping proposal, the following questions are pertinent to the investigation of the above research question:

What is the theory, methodology, and pedagogy of pūrākau? How was it used in traditional Māori society, and how is it utilised today?

How do pūrākau connect to the pedagogy of Indigenous story work and storytelling (including non-Indigenous) approaches?

What are the threshold concepts for undergraduate study in the field of Māori studies?

How can the identification of Māori studies’ threshold concepts be used to support teaching and student achievement in Māori studies programmes?

According to Māori oral tradition, Te Ihonga was a demi-god who could tie intricate knots. The resulting entanglements became known as ‘te ruru a Te Ihonga’ (the ties of Te Ihonga) (Mead and Grove 2001:206). They were regarded as so complicated and secure that only people who knew Te Ihonga’s secret were thought to be able to untie them.

Our main question is ‘do hapū and Iwi  views  and practices provide an alternative paradigm to New Zealand’s biosecurity system to better protect our taonga species?

Māori have developed practices and methods such as the use of ritenga (customs, laws, and protocols) and whakapapa (species assemblages within a holistic ecosystem paradigm) to mitigate risks and threats to both endemic biodiversity and primary production systems from pests, weeds and pathogens. However, the 21st century has seen a rapid increase in species introductions to New Zealand, with dramatic consequences for both Māori livelihoods and cultural integrity.

The project aims to contribute to the intellectual infrastructure of the discipline of te reo Māori revitalisation by collating oral, visual digital and written sources, including a dictionary, thesaurus and repositories of waiata, haka, and narrative recordings. 

The project will answer the following research questions:

What is the cost of Māori health inequities in Aotearoa?              

In New Zealand, the most compelling and consistent health inequalities occur between Māori and non-Māori.  Although the cost of reducing inequalities is perceived as high, a recent study for Māori children showed that the economic cost of “doing nothing” is significant for New Zealand society highlighting the fact that such inequalities are preventable, unnecessary and a breach of human rights.