Utilising Mātauranga to Guide Biomedical Research
About this research
PhD Candidate: Mana Mitchell (Ngāti Maniapoto)
Primary Supervisor(s): Dr Esther Willing
Rapid developments in the fields of intergenerational trauma and Indigenous health worldwide have posed novel ethical challenges and philosophical threats to indigenous communities. This, alongside an existing need to further support and protect Māori researchers, participants and academics, means that a more comprehensive understanding of Kaupapa Māori methodologies and ethical strategies has become increasingly necessary.
By analysing a number of Māori primary sources such as mōteatea (poetic songs, often laments), whakataukī (aphorisms), whakatauākī (proverbialised quotations), I will indentify a number of central tenets that underlie Māori philosophies. This will be further developed by interviews with tohunga (experts in the Māori world), kaiako (teachers) and kairangahau Māori (Māori researchers), to provide a depth of knowledge to the analysis. Finally, I will compare and contrast with existing ethical theories, to guide future investigations in intergenerational trauma and Indigenous health research.
This research draws on mōteatea, whakataukī, and insights from Māori experts to illuminate the ethical foundations of Kaupapa Māori methodologies. By mapping these principles against Western theories, it guides culturally safe approaches for intergenerational trauma and Indigenous health research.