Doctoral Thesis

Kapua O’Connor (Ngāti Kurī), The University of Auckland

Ahikā was a well-established tikanga that described the occupation of lands by hapū, conveyed through them being present on their land to stoke their fires. In conjunction with whakapapa connection to the land, the tikanga of ahikā conferred mana on hapū, as the following whakataukī demonstrates:

Ka wera hoki i te ahi, e mana ana anō

While the fire burns, the mana is effective

Ahikā provided the principle that in order to maintain mana, hapū needed to continuously occupy their lands. Ahiteretere described the flickering fires of hapū who had been away for any time longer than normal seasonal absence. Ahimātaotao described the rapidly cooling, or extinguished fires of hapū who had been way for a long time, measured in generations.

Kate Souness (Ngāi Tahu, Kati Mamoe, Waitaha, Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa), University of Canterbury

Utilising pūrākau as a method and methodology alongside Kaupapa Māori Theory and Mana Wahine theory, this work aims to examine traditional pūrākau inherent in waka hourua deep sea voyaging oral histories throughout the Pacific. The depth of knowledge will journey into the night sky and stories of stars, ancestors and meaning. Navigational knowledge from waiata, pūrākau, whakatau, karakia and kīwaha will inform part of the research.

Waratah, Taogaga (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi), The University of Auckland

How can we - indigenous peoples, navigate spaces where cultural awareness is not normalised? There is an abundance of literature that recognizes the connected nature of indigeneity and social psychology (Johnathan Friedman, 1994; Geertz, Clifford, 1973; Maaka, Roger C.A. (1994) Walker, Ranginui (1989a) , how people are able to define an indigenous identity (Alan Chadwick 2021; Hilary Weaver 2001, Taylor, D. M., & Kachanoff, F. J, A Wilson 1996) and the influence indigeneity has on identity (Paradies 2006, Jackson, S. J., & Hokowhitu, B. (2002) Forte, M. C. (Ed.). (2013).

Kiri West (Ngāti Marutūahu), The University of Auckland

The New Zealand government has indicated a willingness to consider the application of Māori data sovereignty (MDS) in the storage, management and governance of data-sets held by them. To what extent is there alignment between the principles of Māori data sovereignty (as communicated by Te Mana Raraunga) and the government’s current data infrastructure? What are the barriers to the successful implementation of MDS, both from a state perspective, as well as from the perspective of Māori?

Kahutoi Mere Te Kanawa (Ngāti Kinohaku, Maniapoto, Waikato, Tuwharetoa me Rarua oku iwi), 

My application for this scholarship is to help me complete my Creative Practice Doctorate, which I have now been working on for a number of years.

Raaniera Te Whata (Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Moerewa, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), University of Otago

The overall aim of this thesis is to discover Tautoro whakapapa kōrero (important kin-community events/narratives of the distant and recent past) and strengthen the contemporary shape and flow of hapū:

1) mana tūpuna (the influence of ancestors, their leadership and deeds);
2) mana tangata (the confidence and vitality of hapū, whānau and individuals) and;
3) mana whenua (the power associated with the land, including inherited rights, power of control and the protection and conservation of especially sacred sites), and
4) tikanga (customary protocols that determine what is right and wrong in the local socio-physical environment)