Projects

This research project explores the utilisation of sonic mapping and LiDar scanning of Motiti marae and Tapuiwahine A12 landblocks, located 7 km south-west of Te Kūiti, on Mangatea Road.

Our tūpuna were experts in reading tohu o te taiao to live more attuned with the environment and gather kai at the optimal times. Their understanding of their own local taiao is recorded and woven throughout kōrero tuku iho.

This research is at the cutting-edge of expanding legal research theory, methodology and legal knowledge in the development of a bijural legal system in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2021, Te Kōti Whenua Māori initiated a new tikanga-based dispute resolution process, in response to amendments to the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.

This research programme will examine how we might envision an approach to placemaking that would result in outcomes that facilitate the expression of mātauranga Māori, tikanga, whānaungatanga and orangatanga in urban areas. The programme will do this by examining concrete innovations through a series of case studies.

This project forms the first phase of a broader initiative to create guidelines to help direct Rainbow Organisations (RO) in ensuring their work is successful in supporting the long-term flourishing of rangatahi takatāpui. 

PhD Candidate: Stacey Ruru (Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Raukawa)

Primary Supervisor(s): Professor Chellie Spiller

Tangi is the ultimate form of Māori cultural and community expression. Addressing the dearth of scholarly information, this study considers tangi practice, whakapapa, changing environments, community values, sharing knowledge, ritual and what it means to be Māori.

Lead Researcher: Professor Chellie Spiller (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa) University of Waikato

Research Team:

Professor Jarrod Haar (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngaati Mahuta) AUT University

Dr John Reid (Ngāti Pikiao, Tainui) University of Canterbury

Dr Jason Mika (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu) University of Waikato

While the terms racism and equity are increasingly commonly used, action that meaningfully addresses racism and eliminates inequities is less common. This programme seeks to uncover how commitments to equity and ending racism are undermined, ‘non-performative’ or symbolic only, and how they may need to be reconfigured in the context of Aotearoa to align with rangatiratanga.

Currently, the New Zealand Education system is failing Māori in almost every measure of educational progression. A significant part of the problem is the lack of cultural competence of the non-Māori majority teacher workforce.

PhD Candidate: Ms Emily Bain (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toarangatira)

Primary Supervisor(s): Dr. Esther Willing

PhD Candidate: Mana Mitchell (Ngāti Maniapoto)

Primary Supervisor(s): Dr Esther Willing

Project supervisor: Associate Professor Anne-Marie Jackson

Institution: The University of Otago

Project location: The University of Otago, Dunedin Campus

Project supervisor: Dr Waikaremoana Waitoki

Institution: The University of Waikato

Project Summary: The primary purpose of this project is to explore how selected issues involving race in New Zealand are framed and discussed in social and traditional media, including expression of both overt and more subtle forms of racism.

Project Supervisor: Dr Gianna Leoni

Partner: Te Hiku Media

Project supervisors: Mr Tama Blackburn and Miss Sera Gibson

Institution: Taranaki Mounga Project Limited (TMPL)

Project Title: Te Au Roa – Predator sound lure trial: Draw possums out of those difficult to reach places on Taranaki Mounga

Name: Dr Matiu Rātima

Institution: The University of Canterbury

Project Title: Tūrou Hawaiki: Morning karakia and waiata as a culturally responsive pedagogy

Project location: Canterbury University Campus Rehua building (with flexible work from home arrangements)

Project Supervisor: Dr Robin Quigg

Institution: The University of Otago

Project Supervisors: Morgan Tupaea and Dr. Rāwiri Tinirau

Institution: Te Atawhai o Te Ao: Independent Māori Research Institute for Environment and Health

Project Summary: The Whakapapa Research Project aims to gather whānau narratives from eight whānau case studies. As this project unfolds, whānau responses to challenges they have experienced will be documented, and a whānau research methodology will be developed. Through this project, an innovative space of whānau narratives and whakapapa connections will be created, and provide insight into the organisation, perseverance, and preservation of whānau and whakapapa over time.

Project Summary: The Whakarauora Research Project aims to re-integrate traditional fishing methods used by Whanganui tūpuna into the development of an education curriculum and through facilitating wānanga.