Projects

The project will explore the research question: What would a kaupapa Māori based social media platform for Māori communities and whānau look and feel like?  The research will involve engaging with a specific Māori community through wānanga/whakawhiti kōrero in order to ascertain the key elements required to develop it into a more Māori-specific and -friendly platform. 

The research project is analysing the WIPO’s proposal to develop databases of Indigenous Knowledge and genetic resources through a case study on mātauranga Māori innovations in papakāinga and assessing findings about novel mātauranga vis-à-vis existing and proposed domestic and international laws regarding data in registries.

Keita’s research is a qualitative case study on MANUKURA and sets out to explore what practices and/or principles are gained from the kura that support ākonga Māori in their educational aspirations. To achieve this, Keita is interested in the voices of raukura (graduates) of MANUKURA and their whānau, current senior ākonga and their whānau, kaiako, and key people who contributed to the early stages of developing this kura.

We, the delegates of the International Indigenous Climate Change Summit (IICCRS), gathered from November 13th to 17th, 2023, recognize the profound climate crisis facing our world and its dire consequences for Indigenous peoples, our lands, and the global ecosystem.

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.

This kaupapa Māori project addresses one of the most devastating impacts of colonisation in Aotearoa – the forced institutionalisation of Māori children between 1950–1999. Drawing on the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry and leveraging large-scale data sets like the IDI, this study developed innovative methodologies to trace historical trauma and its intergenerational effects. Without burdening affected whānau through direct contact, the research seeks to highlight systemic harm, measure outcomes such as reduced life expectancy, and support future tools of justice, healing, and whānau empowerment.

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.

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?

Bringing together cutting-edge mapping tools, mātauranga Māori, and regenerative farming practices, this iwi-led project empowers Tahamata Incorporation to reimagine the future of their coastal farm. Through GIS, LiDAR, and deep local knowledge, the team is creating new ways to see, plan, and care for the whenua—together.

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.

Project Summary 

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.

This nationwide research programme set out to deepen our understanding of the experiences, challenges, and contributions of Māori PhD graduates across Aotearoa. By tracing the post-graduation journeys of nearly 800 Māori doctoral scholars, the study aimed to highlight their intellectual, cultural, social and economic impact—within whānau, hapū, iwi and beyond.

Although the programme has since been disestablished, its kaupapa remains vital: to inform new models of Māori leadership and participation across academia, government, iwi development, and civil society.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga supported Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT) in their submission to the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti and Te Wairoa. Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT) is an informal network of Tairāwhiti residents and others concerned about land use a

This research will explore wairua and spirituality for rangatahi Māori involved with a youth forensic service in Aotearoa, New Zealand

PHD Candidate: Coral Wiapo (Ngati Whātua)

Primary Supervisor(s): Dr Sue Adams 

Hineitimoana’s research is a critical biography of her grandmother, Tuaiwa (Eva) Rickard, a Tainui Ngāti Koata woman known for her influential role in the Māori land rights movement of the 1970s.

Project supervisor: Dr Erena Wikaire

Institution: Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

Project supervisor: Associate Professor Anne-Marie Jackson

Project supervisors: Dr Lara Greaves & Dr Annie Te One

Institution: Waipapa Taumata Rau

Raumati interns: Ben Barton (Te Arawa) & Sophie Newton (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tukorohe)