Global climate change has been identified as the single greatest threat to human health.  Within this paradigm, indigenous knowledge systems shaped by generations of sustainable interactions with ecosystems, are being looked to for pathways to climate change mitigation and adaptation.  Mātauranga, the holistic and integrated knowledge system developed by the Indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa is no exception.   

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 will explore 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. 

Extensive international scholarship demonstrates Indigenous people are particularly and uniquely affected by historical trauma through colonisation. Specific acts of oppression that remain unaddressed often result in the intergenerational transfer of trauma and trauma responses. In Aotearoa New Zealand, one such act of oppression was the forced removal of Māori children from their families to be placed in a range of state and church managed institutions often for spurious reasons.

Inspired by a little-known Tīkapa mōteatea, He Uru Mānuka, a love lament set among riverside mānuka groves, this project aims to document and culturally map selected Waiapu River locations pairing customary and contemporary technologies. In February 2023 during Cyclone Gabrielle, Waiapu River flooded to a height of 8 metres which exacerbated existing erosion, and further damaged vulnerable cultural and ecological sites. Once-common species utilised in Ngāti Porou lifestyle practices are severely impacted by rapid environmental change, leading to a loss of cultural knowledge. Yet, these practices foster invaluable and mauri-sustaining relationships with our ancestral river.  

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?  The project will take a mixed methods approach rooted in a Kaupapa Māori methodology whereby Māori knowledge is privileged. The project aims to bring together mātauranga Māori – defined here as all types of knowledge – traditional, contemporary, and evolving – held by Māori and design approaches drawn from Western knowledge to elevate Māori aspirations in contemporary urban settings.

The best knowledge/technology is coming together for Tahamata Incorporation and shareholders’ coastal farm, Kuku, Horowhenua. Not only is Tahamata Incorporation aligning itself with Whenua Haumanu program run by Ministry for Primary Industries and Massey University to explore diverse pastures and regenerative management practices for lower North Island coastal farming, but this dedicated iwi-led research team will communicate with shareholders/board/operations via mapping and visuals at winter wānanga.  

Sea level rise resulting from climate change poses significant threats to coastal resources, including mahinga kai, culturally significant sites like wāhi tapu or marae, and projects like wetland habitat restoration. Threats include not just rising sea levels, but also increased frequency and intensity of storm-related effects like storm surge and flooding (e.g., Cyclone Gabrielle). These threats are complex to model, and to fully understand or interpret the outputs of such models often requires technical knowledge beyond the grasp of most people.

Every Indigenous community has cultural and biological material held by national archives, libraries, and museums that they do not own or control. Archsite is the online database for the national archaeological site recording scheme of the New Zealand Archaeological Association that began in 1964. The modification of all archaeological sites is regulated by law. Practices for recording archaeological information have often excluded data from or about hau kāinga associated with sites, even if these were created by their own tūpuna (such as pā) or are situated on Māori-owned land.

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 and the impacts of woody debris.

PHD Candidate: Coral Wiapo (Ngati Whātua)

Primary Supervisor(s): Dr Sue Adams