Mātau Taiao

Talented Māori professionals behind Indigenous disabilities research, space flight and a fitness-focused health initiative are finalists for the 2016 Matariki Awards. The inaugural annual event, which celebrates extraordinary Māori talent across a broad range of fields and industries, is presented by Māori Television and Te Puni Kōkiri and pays homage to the seven stars of Matariki with seven award categories. One is the Te … Read More

Teachers have been shown to underestimate Māori children’s academic capabilities, which their achievements end up reflecting. But Pūhoro, a forward-thinking science academy, has now been set up to support Māori youth in reaching their true potential. Naomi Manu and Mana Vautier give us the lowdown. One thing that people really don’t like to talk about is prejudice. But we all have … Read More

What has the Māori word for ‘chieftainship’ got to do with a team of scientists looking at obesity in Northland? Answer: the researchers broke the scientific mould by putting the Māori communities — not scientists — in the leading role. Researcher Ricky Bell tells us how they did it. Rangatiratanga is a powerful word.  It’s loosely translated to mean chieftainship, authority, leadership.  But … Read More

Scientific and Indigenous ways of thinking differ in how they view where knowledge comes from. Many experiments strip the environment away from a piece of knowledge to see if it still holds true. Yet indigenous knowledge has deep links to its origins and can become ‘lost in translation’ without context. This is something that scientifically-trained people can struggle to get their head around at first. Kennedy Warne, co-founder of New … Read More

Understanding holistically how the world works and our role in it helps us to make sustainable, long-term decisions. Many scientists work in a narrow field of research so need to collaborate across different disciplines to see the big picture. Yet indigenous knowledge is often overlooked. Dr Dan Hikuroa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tainui, Te Arawa) is a specialist in Earth system science and integrating Māori indigenous … Read More

A good starting place for better understanding Mātauranga Māori in the scientific world, is to watch an episode or two from Māori TV’s Project Mātauranga. Project Mātauranga is a television series that celebrates Māori innovation in the science sector. There are thirteen episodes that show how Western Science and Māori knowledge systems are combining to provide solutions to problems. Presented by Dr … Read More

Tangata Whenua — People of the Land — is the name that Māori call themselves as indigenous New Zealanders, and likely signifies the deep roots they have to this green and blue place of jagged peaks and valleys.  The land sustains us. It carries paths to the future as well as ties to the past: whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te … Read More

What is Mātauranga Māori? What does it mean to have and use it? Why is it important in science? In a nutshell, Mātauranga Māori can’t be translated or defined in a simple, two-dimensional way: it is multifaceted. There are many aspects to it. From my understanding, Mātauranga Māori not only refers to the knowledge that Māori have, but encompasses the Māori … Read More

Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome! Mātau Taiao is a space for researchers and other people to share their stories about how they connect science and indigenous knowledge – known in New Zealand as Mātauranga Māori. The name Mātau Taiao was created especially for this blog by Jason King at AUT (tēnā rawa atu koe, Jason). He explains its origins … Read More