About this research
Project Summary
The project aimed to support steps toward a more holistic and Indigenous-led stewardship of Antarctica, by introducing and exploring how to apply the concept and practice of tohu into our rangahau. Observations of Antarctic sea-floor seeps signal a potential tohu or tipping point for the icy continent. Our interpretation of tohu asks about the place of human response and responsibility to signs and tipping points. Introducing this te ao Māori model to Antarctic research within an international network supports sustainable transformation toward flourishing futures for Māori.
Alyssa Thomas, Ocean Mercier and Sarah Seabrook, 2024, presented "He Tohu Āhuarangi: climate change signs between Antarctica and Aotearoa", at Session 32, Antarctic and Southern Ocean Histories: new perspectives and interpretations Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research SCAR conference, Pucon, Chile, 19-23 August.
Researchers
Associate Professor Ocean Mercier and Alyssa Thomas, Victoria University of Wellington
This project explored how the Māori concept of tohu—environmental signs—could inform Antarctic research and stewardship. By weaving te ao Māori into international climate science, the research supported Indigenous-led approaches to recognising and responding to signs of change in Antarctica.
Kairangahau · Researchers
Professor Ocean Mercier
Ngāti Porou
Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Ocean Mercier (Ngāti Porou) focuses on how mātauranga and science connect, relate, and how their proponents and experts…
Professor Ocean Mercier
Alyssa Thomas
Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Alyssa’s research engages with the rangatahi of her hapū, Patuharakeke; with additional funding support from New…
Alyssa Thomas
Ētahi atu · Other projects
This platform project explores how Māori-led taiao initiatives reconnect whānau and hapū with place, identity, and whakapapa. Through case studies, wānanga, and digital tools, the project examines the aspirations, processes, and outcomes of environmental mahi that strengthen connections between people and te taiao.
View projectCommunity Connections to Place
This platform project explores how Māori-led taiao initiatives reconnect whānau and hapū with place, identity, and whakapapa.
Through case studies, wānanga, and digital tools, the project examines the aspirations, processes, and outcomes of environmental mahi that strengthen connections between people and te taiao.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Associate Professor Anne-Marie Jackson
Associate Professor Anne-Marie Jackson
Tēnā koutou, Nō Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa me Ngāti Wai a Anne-Marie. He kairangahau Māori ia ki Te Koronga, ki Te Kura Parawhakawai.Dr Anne-Marie Jackson's research into Māori health and well-being focuses on supporting the hopes and aspirations of Māori communities.“Otago is a wonderful place to do this mahi. We are a well-connected campus with strong linkages to our communities; a place where whānau and whanaungatanga can flourish,” she says.Anne-Marie, who is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, is passionate about… -
Professor Ocean Mercier
Professor Ocean Mercier
Ocean Mercier (Ngāti Porou) focuses on how mātauranga and science connect, relate, and how their proponents and experts work together, particularly in environmental and educational contexts. She explores decolonial and Indigenous approaches to science through specific projects. Her current research includes Māori perspectives of novel biotechnological controls of pests in Aotearoa; understanding groundwater systems with mātauranga Māori; ocean mātauranga to support iwi and community interests and Antarctica-Aotearoa connections. Her research also explores Māori conceptions of mapping and…
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…
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
- He Rauhī Kupu
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
- He Rauhī Kupu
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… -
Professor Jason Paul Mika
Professor Jason Paul Mika
Jason Paul Mika Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei, ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei, ko te ira tangata kei waenganui i raro i te kaitiakitanga o ngā atua, o te manaakitanga o te Runga Rawa. Tīhei mauri ora! Ko Ngāi Tūhoe, ko Ngāti Awa, ko Te Whakatōhea, ko Ngāti Kahungunu ōku iwi. Ko Jason Mika ahau. I was born in Whakatāne and raised mainly in Rotorua. In November 2024, I was fortunate join Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland as a Professor of Māori Management and Associate Dean Māori in He Manga Tauhokohoko Auckland Business School. My research, teaching, writing, and practice centres on Māori and… -
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
This internship compiled a database of traditional Māori food preservation practices to better understand archaeological midden sites and mahinga kai history. Working with Otago’s SPAR team, the project links historical knowledge with contemporary preservation techniques across Aotearoa.
View projectInvestigating traditional mahinga kai practices of preservation throughout Aotearoa
This internship compiled a database of traditional Māori food preservation practices to better understand archaeological midden sites and mahinga kai history.
Working with Otago’s SPAR team, the project links historical knowledge with contemporary preservation techniques across Aotearoa.