Whakaaweawe - featured impact

Awatea Waimārie Moxon (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāi Tahu), Te Herenga Waka Victoria University My research explores the relationship between wellbeing and whakapapa knowledge (Māori history, genealogy and creation stories). My PhD extends my previous research, which became the first to empirically illustrate the correlation between whakapapa…

Maren Tahata (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui), The University of Auckland Māori students remain underrepresented in STEM fields in Aotearoa-not due to lack of ability or interest, but because the education system often fails to reflect Māori identities, values, and ways of knowing. This research explores how culturally responsive science teaching can…

Jolene Barletta Rangihaeata (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Konohi, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruahine, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Apa), University of Waikato. Climate change poses profound environmental and cultural challenges for Indigenous peoples across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, including Māori communities in Aotearoa. Despite minimal contributions to…

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.

Awardee: Linda Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Waikato-Tainui), University of Waikato The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Tikanga and the State - Selected Papers of Sir E. Taihākurei Durie. This collection brings together published and unpublished papers by Tā E. Taihākurei Durie, organised around the theme of…

Awardee: Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor (Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor), The University of Auckland This research explores how Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (NWŌ) whānau understand, experience, and sustain collective oranga and mental wellbeing, with the overarching aim of developing a culturally grounded iwi-led mental health strategy. The project emerged from the NWŌ…

Māori doctoral scholars often face significant challenges in universities dominated by Western academic traditions. These environments can clash with Māori cultural values and needs, reflecting colonial legacies that marginalise Indigenous knowledge and methodologies. To address these challenges, the Te Kupenga o MAI (MAI) programme was created in the late…

Kia tōnui te reo Māori: Prosperous whānau, prosperous reo Māori, examines the conditions that support the growth, use, and intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori across whānau and communities in Aotearoa. The project focuses on four interconnected areas: te reo o te kāinga-Māori language use in the home, the role of social and community…

Universities in Aotearoa hold a vast, largely unmapped, collection of Māori data. With that, these institutions are in positions of power to control the ways in which Māori data is collected, stored, accessed and used, often without meaningful involvement from Māori communities. Organised across three objectives, this project explores how Māori data…

Since the arrival of visitors to Aotearoa, Māori have always been quick to assess and adapt language, technology and information. Contemporary society brings new languages, technology and information instantly to our fingertips. New pressures and demands can be a consequence of readily accessible knowledge. For all its advances, there are also…

This research, grounded in Kaupapa Māori and mana wāhine methodologies, explores the experiences of Māori mothers and whānau during the perinatal period. It highlights the expertise of Māori birthing parents and identifies strengths and solutions to address inequities in perinatal mental health care.A publicly accessible resource was developed to share…

This te reo Māori publication shares powerful naming narratives from reo champions who reclaim Māori names as part of their language journeys. Through these stories written entirely in te reo it celebrates identity, resistance, and reo revitalisation, and includes teaching resources for kura kaupapa and wharekura.