2020 Conference

NPM's biennial 2020 International Indigenous Research Conference (#IIRC20) was our first online conference

From 18 - 20 November, we hosted a virtual "Gathering of Indigenous Minds" from our base here at Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kkeynote speakers included world renowned Indigenous scholars Professor Rangi Matamua (Tūhoe) - link here to Rangi's Language of the Stars NPM Seminar and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou) - link here to Linda's 2016 NPM Conference Presentation. More keynotes will be announced over the coming weeks.

The sub-themes of the conference are:

• Mahi Auaha - Creative Indigenous Innovation, Arts and Performance
• Mauri Ora - Indigenous Human Flourishing
• Whai Rawa - Prosperous Indigenous Economies
• Te Reo Tāketake me Ngā Tikanga Tāketake - Thriving Indigenous Languages and Cultures
• Te Tai Ao - Healthy Natural Environments

In the past 30 years indigenous astronomy has undergone a resurgence and this is especially evident in both Hawai’i and Aotearoa. Since the 1980s, the Makahiki celebration period, which is associated with the observation of Makali’i (Pleiades), has played a major role in the Hawaiian cultural revitalisation movement. In the same manner Matariki (Pleiades) and the Māori new year celebration has become a significant event in Aotearoa with plans to establish a nation-wide public holiday to honour the winter appearance of this star cluster.
Both Makali’i and Matariki are part of a much larger bodies of knowledge that were central in the lives of our ancestors, informing their day-to-day activities and influencing their divisions of time, seasons, celebrations, cosmology, planting, harvesting, fishing, wayfinding and even their religious activities. Today an increasing number of people are becoming interested in traditional astronomy, exploring ancient narratives and practices connected to the astronomical bodies. The application of lunar calendar systems, the use of stars as markers of time and event and astronomically connected ceremony and celebrations are being reintroduced into modern indigenous society as a means to maintain language and culture.
In this keynote address, Dr Kalei Nu’uhiwa and Professor Rangi Matamua will discuss how traditional astronomical practices in both Hawai’i and Aotearoa are playing an increasingly important role in maintaining culture. Specifically, this presentation will focus on astronomical ceremony and its importance now and into the future.

From early in 2020, across our planet, Indigenous peoples followed the emerging COVID-19 pandemic with keen interest. We have vivid memories of the impact that infectious diseases can wreck on our communities, from the 1918 Influenza pandemic, to SARS, Ebola and measles. We understand how we have been made vulnerable by the intergenerational effects of colonisation and inaction in the face of need by successive governments and oppressive policies, but simultaneously we are strengthened by Indigenous vigilance, preparedness, resilience and determination. As a consequence, Indigenous Peoples have experienced COVID-19 uniquely. The Indigenous response has been informed, sovereign and powerful. We are bearing witness to differential outcomes of COVID-19 on Indigenous peoples in different jurisdictions, and in different communities. With few exceptions, these outcomes are largely mediated by policies, and processes imposed externally by regional or national bodies.
In this keynote address, Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora chairs a panel of Indigenous experts: Dr Jordan Cory (Australia), Professor Keawe’aimoku Kaholokula (Hawaii), Dr Marcia Anderson (Canada), and Professor Papaarangi Reid (Aotearoa) who have been involved in COVID-19 responsiveness in these nations.