Matakitenga project

Inspired by an ancient mōteatea and grounded in the living whenua of Ngāti Porou, He Uru Mānuka is a creative cultural mapping project breathing new life into ancestral knowledge. As climate shifts reshape the Waiapu River, we pair traditional practice with modern technologies to document, protect, and uplift the mauri of the land, the waters, and the stories in between.

Māori (and Indigenous) women engage in embodied relationship with the natural environment in a range of ways, such as raranga, rongoā, or physical activity. This research explored what these embodied relationships can teach us about the potential for reciprocal healing between wahine and whenua, person and place, by developing a network of Māori and Indigenous women and prioritising mātauranga wāhine.

Bringing together cutting-edge mapping tools, mātauranga Māori, and regenerative farming practices, this iwi-led project empowers Tahamata Incorporation to reimagine the future of their coastal farm. Through GIS, LiDAR, and deep local knowledge, the team is creating new ways to see, plan, and care for the whenua—together.

This project explores how mātauranga Māori can strengthen climate change responses in Aotearoa. By analysing policy and interviewing experts working in te taiao initiatives, the research aims to identify how government approaches support—or limit—Māori-led action. The findings aim to enhance Māori decision-making and climate health outcomes through Indigenous knowledge and leadership.

This kaupapa Māori project addresses one of the most devastating impacts of colonisation in Aotearoa – the forced institutionalisation of Māori children between 1950–1999. Drawing on the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry and leveraging large-scale data sets like the IDI, this study developed innovative methodologies to trace historical trauma and its intergenerational effects. Without burdening affected whānau through direct contact, the research seeks to highlight systemic harm, measure outcomes such as reduced life expectancy, and support future tools of justice, healing, and whānau empowerment.

This kaupapa explored the relationships between environmental tohu (signs) observed in reporepo (swamplands), the phases of the maramataka, and the health of local ecosystems in the Hokianga.