Projects

This research report has been titled Rākau-nui as an acknowledgement to the full moon phase in the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Rākau-nui also represents the collected journey to which this full report has been constructed from. The Maramataka is

This report has been prepared for Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga as part of the summer internship programme 2018-2019. This project is titled Tangaroa Ara Rau: Whānau connections and Water Safety with a purpose to understand unique whānau connections to water and its benefit for water safety.

Grace O'Leary (Te Arawa, Nga Puhi), University of Waikato

Māori sex workers are over-represented in street level sex work - an area known to be prone to more human rights abuses, unreported violence, riskier health and safety workplaces, higher rates of illicit substance abuse, and lower age of entry. As with many sex workers in Aotearoa, Māori sex workers continue to be discriminated against both in their jobs, and out, in areas such as housing and healthcare.

This research aims at addressing issues of stigma, discrimination and victimisation by providing a space where Māori women sex workers can speak about their bodies not as primarily sex working bodies, but bodies that participate in another aspect of society (with much less discrimination associated), that of sport and physical activity. My findings thus far reveal the ways sport and physical activity provide a mechanism for Māori women sex workers to problematise, feel, and celebrate their bodies.

How do fat Indigenous wāhine reclaim body sovereignty as a form of resistance? This research centred on the lived experiences of fat Māori wāhine, challenging colonial and biomedical narratives through the lens of mātauranga Māori. It reclaims tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake of the body, and reimagines access, wellbeing, and worth beyond systems of oppression.

Griffin Manawaroa Leonard (Te Arawa), University of Otago

The Radical Nonviolence in Aotearoa hui was the first hui of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nonviolent movements and the academic study of them is not new. Nor are such movements organised by Māori seeking to uphold their rights. What is inovative about the proposed research, however, is that it is based upon bringing together a varied group of New Zealanders and internationals to discuss these matters.

Sophie Williams (Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa), University of Auckland

He tōnga kākano – The planting of the seed is a collaborative study of indigenous performative knowledge within a contemporary dance context.

The focus for this work is the ways in which whakapapa and Māori identity are integral to the expressions of indigenous (Māori) performative knowledge within haka theatre especially, and the wider context of contemporary dance.