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This case study explores competing corporate and Indigenous visions for the future of Ihumatao, one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Valued for centuries by the hau kainga [home people], Ihumatao is also recognised as an exceptionally significant cultural heritage landscape. Here, transnational corporation Fletcher Building Limited acquired contested whenua [land] for a commercial housing development. Its vision of the future met sustained resistance from the Indigenous-led Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL) campaign, now known as #ProtectIhumatao. This case study weaves the sociological insights of critical futures studies with the ethical-political challenges of decolonising research to explore conflicting future imaginaries at work in this escalating crisis. We critically examine selected campaign, corporate, government and United Nations texts. While the success of Fletcher's plan seemed inevitable, the SOUL campaign earned widespread support enabling the aspirations of the hau kainga to be heard. #ProtectIhumatao challenges our nation's commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tino rangatiratanga [the exercise of unqualified authority or self-determination] and key international agreements on Indigenous rights. Further action is needed to secure a future for Ihumatao defined and controlled by the hau kainga. Only then will justice be assured.

This article is a response to the recent surge of interest over extractive industry in New Zealand and the opposition to this by many iwi. The New Zealand government has in recent years made offshore exploration and production a high priority. By the extractive industry, we mean the people, companies, and activities involved in removing oil and gas, metals, coal, stone and other useful resources from the ground.

Decolonisation is a term that alarms some, and gives hope to others. It is an uncomfortable and often bewildering concept for many New Zealanders. This book seeks to demystify decolonisation using illuminating, real-life examples. By exploring the impact of colonisation on Māori and non-Māori alike, Imagining Decolonisation presents a transformative vision of a country that is fairer for all.

This article discusses the place of Mana Wahine theory in decolonising gender relationships in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Mana wahine theory is grounded upon and informed by Māori language, practices, protocol and knowledge forms. It is through this lens that we are able more deeply come to understand and theorise issues faced by Māori women and in doing so to reclaim and reassert our place on our own lands. This is both a movement and a theory that has at its centre the resurgence and reaffirmation of the mana of Māori women, past, present and future.

In 1840, some of the sovereign nations of Maori signed te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Maori language version of the Treaty of Waitangi) with the British Crown. Hone Heke was the first Maori leader of the northern nation of Ngdpuhi to sign, but by 1844 he was leading a significant revolt against British colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand by chopping down British flagpoles erected on his lands. While Maori may have initially welcomed the intent of te Tiriti as a means for seeking British help to protect their international borders, the British prioritised the English version of the Treaty which recorded the transfer of sovereignty from Maori to the British. As the British transposed their dominant legal traditions of governance, including bringing to the fore their doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, Maori have been seeking their survival ever since. We extend this by focusing on why the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty needs to adapt to the Treaty's promise of bicultural power sharing.

Legislation emerging from Treaty of Waitangi settlements provide Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, with new opportunities to destabilize and decolonize the colonial knowledge, processes and practices that contribute towards negative material and metaphysical impacts on their rohe [traditional lands and waters]. In this article we focus our attention on the Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Act 2012 and the Deed of Settlement signed between the Crown (the New Zealand government) and Ngāti Maniapoto (the tribal group with ancestral authority over the Waipā River) as an example of how the law in Aotearoa New Zealand is increasingly stretched beyond settler-colonial confines to embrace legal and ontological pluralism. We illustrate how this Act serves as the foundation upon which Ngāti Maniapoto are seeking to restore, manage, and enhance the health of their river. Such legislation, we argue, provides a far higher degree of recognition of Māori rights and interests both as an outcome of the settlement process and by strengthening provisions under the Resource Management Act 1991 regarding the role of Māori in resource management. We conclude by suggesting that co-governance and co-management arrangements hold great potential for transforming river management by recognizing and accommodating ontological and epistemological pluralism, which moves Aotearoa New Zealand closer to achieving sustainable and just river futures for all.

Background Te Tiriti o Waitangi was negotiated between the British Crown and Indigenous Māori leaders of Aotearoa New Zealand in 1840. Māori understood the agreement as an affirmation of political authority and a guarantee of British protection of their lands and resources. The Crown understood it as a cession of sovereignty. The tension remains, though legal and political developments in the last 35 years, have established that the agreement places a mandatory obligation on the Crown to protect and promote Māori health. It also requires that Māori may exercise rangatiratanga, or responsibility and authority, in relation to health policy development and implementation. Methods Te Tiriti is, then, an instrument against which health policy is justly and efficaciously evaluated. This paper introduces critical Tiriti analysis as such an evaluative method. Critical Tiriti analysis involves reviewing policy documents against the Preamble and the Articles of te Tiriti o Waitangi. The review process has five defined phases: (i) orientation; (ii) close reading; (iii) determination; (iv) strengthening practice and (v) Māori final word. Results We present a working example of critical Tiriti analysis using the New Zealand Government’s Primary Health Care Strategy published in 2001. This policy analysis found poor alignment with te Tiriti overall and the indicators of its implementation that we propose. Conclusion This paper provides direction to policy makers wanting to improve Māori health outcomes and ensure Māori engagement, leadership and substantive authority in the policy process. It offers an approach to analysing policy that is simple to use and, inherently, a tool for advancing social justice.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a treaty negotiated between Māori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa) and the British Crown, affirmed Māori sovereignty and guaranteed the protection of hauora (health). The Waitangi Tribunal, established in 1975 to investigate alleged breaches of the agreement, released a major report in 2019 (registered as WAI 2575) about breaches of te Tiriti within the health sector in relation to primary care, legislation, and health policy. This article explores the implications of this report for the New Zealand health sector and the decolonial transformation of health systems. The tribunal found that the Crown has systematically contravened obligations under te Tiriti across the health sector. We complement the tribunal’s findings, through critical analysis, to make five substantive recommendations: (1) the adoption of Tiriti-compliant legislation and policy; (2) recognition of extant Māori political authority (tino rangatiratanga); (3) strengthening of accountability mechanisms; (4) investment in Māori health; and (5) embedding equity and anti-racism within the health sector. These recommendations are critical for upholding te Tiriti obligations. We see these requirements as making significant contributions to decolonizing health systems and policy in Aotearoa and thereby contributing to aspirations for health equity as a transformative concept.

Science and evidence form the foundation of decision-making at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA has committed to a multi-year mātauranga work programme that focuses on ways of weaving mātauranga, indigenous knowledge, into its decision-making processes. The first step is to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts involved, and their implications for the EPA’s decision-making processes. The aspiration is to weave an understanding of mātauranga into the daily work of the EPA, and to build on Mäori partnerships. The EPA has engaged proactively with Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao, the EPA’s statutory Māori advisory committee; Te Herenga, the EPA-supported kaitiaki network centred in the regions; and Ngā Parirau o te Mātauranga, the kaumātua group drawn from the Te Herenga network. One of the most critical strands of work of the mātauranga work programme will be to create a mātauranga framework for decision-makers to use to examine the veracity of mātauranga when presented as evidence. This paper explores the EPA’s journey towards being ready to create a mātauranga framework.

Mōteatea are the orally sung literature and one of its most famous composers was Ngāti Tuwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto’s Puhiwahine. This paper will explore the political philosophy and theory contained within Puhiwahine’s waiata pakanga (war song) ‘Mā Wai Rā’ written for Ngāti Toa relations particularly their war leader, Te Rangihaeata. The observations from these forms of indigenous oral literature are based in a form of emerging indigenous philosophy called whakaaro based philosophy and method. Additionally, the author introduces a Kaupapa Māori Research method Marae ā-Rorohiko which outlines how social media, in particular Facebook, can be used as a form of group validity or qualitative data gathering. The analysis of the moteatea will focus on building a first person understanding of Māori philosophy and undestandings of mōteatea settler colonialism, colonisation and the centrality of mana and aroha in Māori society. It will reveal the that Puhiwahine had a deep understanding of Māori philosophy and what was to come from her people. It will also provide new understandings around the white possessive doctrine and mana motuhake.

Internationally, declining voter turnout is a topic of considerable concern in many liberal democracies. In this article, we investigate whether these similar trends can be discerned in the voter turnout for Māori governance entities. We first explore some of the demographic contexts within which Māori governance entities operate with a specific focus on population, residence, and age. We then provide a detailed descriptive analysis of voting data from one particular entity: Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, with whom we worked to understand how their elections inform their aspirations for continuing connectedness with tribal members. In the final section of the article, we present findings from an analysis of publicly available tribal voting data to see whether the trend of declining voter turnout is observable and whether online voting is shown to impact turnout.

This article analyses the protections the New Zealand intellectual property framework provides for the haka and matauranga Maori. Part II of this article defines the key terms of" misappropriation"," traditional knowledge" and" matauranga Maori" in order for the reader to fully understand these concepts in an indigenous, and specifically Maori, context. Part III of this article discusses the importance and signficance of haka in Maori culture, particularly looking at the history and significance of Ka Mate, the most well-known haka in New Zealand and the world. Examples of different companies, both New Zealand and internationally-owned, using the haka for commercial benefit are analysed to establish whether or not their use of the haka is misappropriation, and if so, the harm this misappropriation has caused Maori. Part IV discusses the current legal protections New Zealand provides for matauranga Maori and whether they sufficiently protect the haka and matauranga Maori generally. It will assess the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 as a case study. Part V outlines the limitations of the intellectual framework. Part VI of this article looks to what legal protections would be sufficient to protect against the misappropriation of the haka and matauranga Maori generally.

This article explores ways to decolonise aspects of the intellectual property system in Aotearoa New Zealand, primarily in respect of trade marks. It considers the seminal Wai 262 report of the Waitangi Tribunal and builds upon its findings and recommendations, while also offering new ideas of legal reform for protecting matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge and expertise) from undue exploitation. This article also measures those ideas against the objectives and principles of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as well as other internationally recognised rights. Essentially, this article maintains that for any mechanism to be effective in recognising and upholding the tino rangatiratanga (unqualified self-determination) of Maori over their own matauranga, that mechanism must be founded upon the principles of tikanga Maori (Maori laws and customs), which is a notion crystallised within the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It must also find its own meaningful place in the law of New Zealand that surrounds us today. It is only in this way that the extractive and thereby oppressive binds of the western intellectual property regime can be unpicked and put aside and the tapu (high status and associated sanctity) of matauranga can be upheld. These words are also an honouring of those who spent countless hours on the Wai 262 report. It is hoped this article gives new and much needed life to the issue of protecting matauranga Maori, which is still as relevant today as it was then. Kei aku rangatira, kei aku tapaeru, kei aku whakaruakaka, tenei e ngakau whakaiti nei (an acknowledgement of all those who took part in Wai 262).

Mixed-method bicultural research in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the weaving of Indigenous and other knowledge, is emerging within many academic disciplines. However, mātauranga Māori (the knowledge, culture, values, and world view of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) and Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) is poorly represented within geomorphological investigations. Here, we review international efforts to include Indigenous knowledge in geologic and geomorphic studies and provide an overview of the current state of mātauranga Māori within research endeavours in Aotearoa New Zealand. We review three theoretical frameworks (i.e. methodologies) for including mātauranga Māori in research projects and three models (i.e. methods) for including Māori values within research. We identify direct benefits to geomorphology and discuss how these frameworks and models can be adapted for use with Indigenous knowledge systems outside of Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of this review is to encourage geomorphologists around the world to engage with local Indigenous peoples to develop new approaches to geomorphic research. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we hope to inspire geomorphologists to embark on research journeys in genuine partnership with Māori that promote toitū te mātauranga – the enduring protection, promotion and respect of mātauranga Māori.

The removal of a Māori child in May 2019 led to widespread protest and the launch of four inquiries into the Ministry for Children, plus an urgent inquiry through the Waitangi Tribunal. Tamariki Māori are over-represented in the child welfare system, but the issues are not just about the system itself. The legacy of colonisation continues to have an impact, not just on individual whānau, but also on the loss of tikanga in relation to whānau. It is the tikanga of whānau that many protesters seek to protect. Furthermore, advocates for reform disagree on the extent to which partnership and biculturalism should be prioritised, or whether self-determination should be a minimum prerequisite for change. Understanding this difference of opinion is important because it affects our view of the child welfare system itself. This article explores these issues within the current context, where child welfare issues are a matter of considerable public debate.

Māori in Aotearoa have higher incidence, prevalence and mortality from chronic disease. The dominant narrative in Aotearoa about the reasons for Māori ill health neglects to acknowledge the history of colonisation and failures of the health system, alongside the holistic view of health taken by Māori focusing on collective, whānau-based outcomes. In this article, we review health interventions for chronic disease that have a kaupapa Māori philosophical basis. Our findings demonstrate that there is no clear process in health service design, delivery, research and funding that values and understands mātauranga Māori. Western knowledge systems are inadequate for collecting and presenting Māori knowledge. Overall, we highlight that the tension between acknowledging that a by Māori, for Māori approach is best, and the difficulty in defining appropriate evidence collection methodology and outcome measures when funders and policy makers continue to require Western-centric interventions is an obstacle to improving Māori health outcomes.

Developing equitable marine management systems that recognise Indigenous worldviews, values, and practices, alongside international initiatives such as Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) are paramount in countries which aim to recognise Indigenous rights. This is the case for New Zealand (NZ) where Indigenous-Māori rights to partner with the Government for the purpose of environmental management were guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi, 1840, and subsequent Acts (e.g. Resource Management Act, 1991). Our aim was to explore how both Indigenous-Māori and NZ societal values can be integrated into a marine co-management decision-making framework. Here we describe the Waka-Taurua (double-canoe) framework, and how it can be applied in developing a NZ marine management system (NZ-MMS), which includes both kaitiakitanga (a Māori concept of reciprocal care between Indigenous-Māori people and their territorial environment), and EBM, equitably. We argue that the Waka-Taurua framework can improve how marine co-management systems are developed by facilitating a more structured and equitable discussion of both Indigenous-Māori and broader societal worldviews, values, and practices.