Indigenous Visual Jurisprudence – developing a definition
About this research
Interns
Shannon Mihaere, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
Eden Irvine, Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou, University of Otago
Supervisor
Metiria Stanton Turei, Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou, University of Otago
The internship is provided as part of the prestigious NPM Borrin Foundation Legal Research Internship award.
Overview
This project was situated within Kōpū, the mātauranga Māori legal research practice at Te Tātai Kaupeka Ture, Faculty of Law, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. It formed part of the Decolonising Law, Theory and Knowledge research programme, which was broad and multidisciplinary, with contributions from law, social sciences, and the humanities (specifically environmental, design, and art) both nationally and internationally. The collaborative effort worked across various areas of legal theory, including Indigenous laws, common law, environmental law, jurisprudence, legal history, property law, and constitutional law.
The interns reviewed the work of Indigenous authors such as Ariella Aisha Azouley, Jeffery G. Hewitt, and Tina Ngata; explored exhibitions such as Taku Hoe Festpac in Honolulu, Hawai’i (2024), He Tirohanga ki Tai: Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery at Tairāwhiti Museum (2018), and Words that are Lasting at the Queen’s Law Atrium, Queen’s University, Ontario. The interns were tasked with visiting an exhibition each week and considering the legalities expressed by and embedded in the visual works.
The interns contributed to a research project exploring a new area of law, visual jurisprudence, which is a legal theory that considers how visual legal information affects people's perceptions of the law and its impact on them and their communities. The research focused on the aesthetic and moral implications of Indigenous peoples' visualisation of their law, legal culture, and experiences of coloniality and survivance.