This significant research programme was led by Distinguished Professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith of Te Whare Wānanga

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga is pleased to invest $1.5 million over three years in this research initiative, with a tripartite agreement between the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington and University of Otago. Two inspiring Māori researchers have been chosen to lead the initiative; Dr Rawinia Higgins, School of Māori Studies, Victoria University of Wellington and Associate Professor Poia Rewi, School of Māori, Pacific, and Indigenous Studies, University of Otago. The research will seek to understand how the language contributes to economic development, to cultural identity and social cohesion. In addition, the research will contribute to three key areas:

There are more than 16,000 Māori treasures held in overseas museums, art galleries and allied institutions. Unfortunately, the knowledge about many of these taonga has been mainly confined to museum personnel, academics and scholars who have visited these institutions. Māori people have been largely dislocated and alienated from their taonga and been the passive observers of the research and knowledge about them.
 

This research will unravel heritage threads and leadership principles that connect New Zealand and Polynesia. It will explore narratives relating to entrepreneurial leaders, including the early navigators who travelled between Tahiti, Rarotonga and New Zealand.

This project examines rongoā (traditional Māori knowledge of medicinal plants) to find ways to improve animal health naturally, and overall, manage farms with respect for the land.

The commercial fishing industry is a complex system, and one issue that can hamper the success of fishing companies is the inadvertent capture of fish that are not target species. Under the Quota Management System, if a company has limited quota for a non-target species then fishing for target species has to stop once the limited quota of non-target species has been met. In a lead-up research project the researchers showed that fish traps, based in mātauranga Maori, have potential to reduce bycatch. In this second phase, the researchers looked at the design of these fish traps and tested new designs to determine commercial viability.

Rakiura Māori muttonbirders and researchers collaborated to build and test a computer-based decision support package to allow individual kaitiaki to choose optimal harvesting strategies on their own whānau’s ancestral birding ground. They tested whether or not the tool builds understanding of consequences of current harvesting levels for their mokopuna’s harvesting opportunities, and measured whether it changed both intended and observed harvesting behaviour. The ability of science and computer tools to be integrated into mātauranga and traditional harvest management was assessed.

For many years, the knowledge of indigenous peoples has been the preserve of Western anthropologists and ethnographers. Like other indigenous people, Māori are concerned with the ongoing neglect, misuse and erosion of traditional ecological knowledge. This is further compounded by the loss of key knowledge holders over the years and their scarcity today.
 

Otago has very low numbers of Māori language speakers – French is the most widely spoken second language in the region. Given this context, it is important that any interventions aimed at revitalising and maintaining the Māori language are evidence-based. There is ample research on second language acquisition but little that shows the actual as opposed to self-reported experience of the second language learner as transmitter of this language within the home. The aim of this research is to support local tribal and community language initiatives by developing a language intervention “tool-box” informed by in-home observations and national and international research.

The population of kanakana (piharau, lamprey) is poorly understood and believed to be declining. In Murihiku concern for this taonga species led to this research in the Waikawa River.