Matakitenga project

Project lead: Mr Kāhui Iles (Ngāti Porou), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi This project explores future sustainable economic developments in Te Tairāwhiti, specifically within Te Rohe Pōtae o Ngāti Porou. Historically dominated by farming, the region now faces environmental challenges such as climate change, erosion, and biodiversity loss.

Project lead: Associate Professor Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua ō Orākei, Tonga) The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) Recognising the value and interconnectedness of human and non-human life, climate activism is directed toward the protection of our biosphere and natural environment as a whole. In Aotearoa, such…

Project lead: Dr Karen Wright Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) Māori in Aotearoa experience large and persistent differences in health outcomes compared to non-Māori in nearly all health conditions. While causation of these unfair and unjust differences is understandably complex, differential access to health care services…

Project lead: Dr. Emmy Rākete Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) In the last four decades, New Zealand has begun imprisoning on a scale never seen before in this land’s history. Māori people have consistently made up at least half of the prison population, and Māori communities are among those that have experienced…

Project lead: Professor Carla Houkamau Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host) This research project partners Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland) with Ngā Pou a Tāne (National Māori Forestry Association) to address a critical paradox: while Māori own approximately 48% of commercial forest land…

Project lead: Associate Professor Byron Rangiwai (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou), Unitec Institute of Technology | Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka This foundational phase of He Ara Mārama establishes the kaupapa, relationships, and credibility required to guide a multi-phase research programme focused on ADHD in Māori adulthood. ADHD remains…

Project lead: Professor Waikaremoana Waitoki (Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Māhanga), The University of Waikato | Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato The ACT Party introduced the Treaty Principles Bill in 2024, proclaiming to protect everyone’s equal rights before the law. The Bill has sparked immense debates over the Crown’s attempt to rewrite the articles of te Tiriti o…

Project lead: Dr Te Wai Barbarich-Unasa Ngāti Paoa, Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto AUT University | Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau Type 2 diabetes continues to be a major health challenge for Māori, who are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed and face more severe and life-threatening complications than non-Māori (Holder-Pearson & Chase, 2022). Despite…

Project lead: Dr Ani Kainamu Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Across Te Tai-o-Araiteuru, mana whenua must dispute the controversial issue of ‘kina barrens’; a biased view that is used to increase commercial kina quota. Although mana whenua have intimate knowledge of their rohe moana, the current decision-making process…

Project lead: Professor Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato, Ngāti Apakura), The University of Waikato | Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato This project will document Māori-led responses to climate change through a Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview) lens, focusing on the connection between Māori communities and their ancestral whenua (land). Through wānanga (digital…

Project lead: Dr Riri Ellis Ngati Raukawa, Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Tahu The University of Waikato | Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato Sustainability disclosures are central to the ongoing global debate about accountability in sustainable business practices. However, their voluntary and unregulated nature, along with inconsistent definitions, standardised titles…

Project lead: Dr Vincent van Uitregt (Ngaa Rauru, Te Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi, Tūhoe), Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka Climate change related research is preoccupied with the impacts on human life and futures. The immanent impacts on our non-human relations are relegated to ecological or conservation research Our uri-based research group…