About this research
Project Summary
Our tūpuna were experts in reading tohu o te taiao to live more attuned with the environment and gather kai at the optimal times. Their understanding of their own local taiao is recorded and woven throughout kōrero tuku iho. The maramataka is an example of kōrero tuku iho which provides a uniquely Māori way to record, organise and understand ngā tohu o te taiao.
In response to diminished eco-systems, several kura, marae, and hāpori around the Hokianga are exploring their own solutions to restoring the taiao and their pātaka kai, through the learnings imbedded in kōrero tuku iho. These kaupapa also strengthen identity and te reo ā-iwi, while rejuvenating the mātauranga and practices of our tūpuna.
Around the Hokianga, reporepo (swamplands) are particularly important as they influence and indicate the health of water ways and other connected ecosystems.
Research Question
How do observations of tohu in the reporepo, align with the maramataka, and local kōrero tuku iho in the Hokianga?
Lead Researcher
Dr Isaac Warbrick, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngā Puhi, Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
Research Team
Rereata Makiha, Te Mahurehure, Te Arawa, Independent
Dallas Williams, Te Mahurehure, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Kaharau, Ngāti Hau ki Hokianga, Independent
Valance Smith, Ngā Puhi, Waikato, AUT
Aylah Williams, Te Mahurehure, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Hau ki Hokianga, Ngāti Pukenga, Independent
Pairama Woodbury, Ngāti Korokoro, Te Hikutu – Ngāpuhi, Independent
Highlights
- Creating an understanding of the connection between tohu of the reporepo, the phases of the maramataka, and the ‘health’ of local ecosystems
- Increasing capacity of local rangatahi and whānau to explore and monitor their local environment utilising modern technologies alongside Māori knowledge
- Sharing learnings that promoted these practices to kura, marae, and hāpori throughout the Hokianga
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.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Motiti Marae and Tapuiwahine A12 whenua are full of unseen stories, rhythms, and vibrational energies. This research brought together cutting-edge sonic mapping and LiDar scanning technologies to explore the ecosystems and acoustic heritage of these ancestral lands. In partnership with local hapū, marae, and iwi, the project captured both the seen and the unheard — illuminating the mauri of the whenua and awa in powerful new ways.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Dr Maree Sheehan
Dr Maree Sheehan
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Dr Valance Smith
Dr Valance Smith
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Associate Professor Maui Hudson
Associate Professor Maui Hudson
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Dr Claudio Aguayo
Dr Claudio Aguayo
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau…
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He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau, these publications provide actionable insights and inspiration for transformative change in economic and cultural systems.
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
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Kairangahau · Researchers
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Professor Chellie Spiller
Professor Chellie Spiller
Dr Chellie Spiller, of Matawhaiti Iwitea, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, is Professor of Management and Leadership, and Associate Dean Māori at the University of Waikato. She was previously a senior lecturer and Associate Dean Māori and Pacific at the University of Auckland Business School. She has over 30 years of corporate experience in tourism, finance and marketing, holding senior executive positions in New Zealand and abroad, and brings this experience to her academic work and leadership and management development programmes. Her research explores how Māori and indigenous businesses create… -
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar (PhD) is a Professor of Human Resource Management in the Department of Management and has tribal affiliations of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta. In 2018, Professor Haar was appointed as a Member of the Marsden Fund Council and is the Convenor of the Marsden Economics and Human Behavioural Sciences panel. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2020), a Research Fellow of the Australia & New Zealand Academy of Management (since 2012), and Chartered Fellow of the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ). He won the inaugural HRINZ HR… -
Dr John Reid
Dr John Reid
John is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury’s Ngai Tahu Research Centre. He is a specialist in leading and developing multi-disciplinary research and development programmes focused on addressing interrelated social, economic, and environmental problems. His research explores the way in which Indigenous and Western cultures shape identity, sense of place, and approaches to social and economic development. John's current research interests are focused on sustainable development within indigenous tribal communities and in fostering novel approaches to development through… -
Associate Professor Jason Paul Mika
Associate Professor Jason Paul Mika
Jason is Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu. He is an associate professor at Te Raupapa Waikato Management School and Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand. Jason’s research, teaching, writing, and practice centres on Indigenous business philosophy in multiple sites, sectors, and scales, including Indigenous trade, tourism, agribusiness, and the marine economy. In 2015, Jason completed a PhD in Māori entrepreneurship at Massey University. In 2019, Jason was a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga senior scholar at Stanford University’s Woods… -
Dr Matthew Rout
Dr Matthew Rout
Matt works on indigenous socio-economic development and environmental sustainability initiatives and projects with a focus on applied outcomes through theoretical synthesis. He has a particular interest in how philosophical insights from ontology and epistemology can be used in practical ways to aid indigenous development. Indigenous and modernist ontology and epistemology Institutional economics Postcolonial psychology Settler colonisation Sustainable development
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