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    Ka Hura te Tai (The Tides of Transition) : former refugees finding a sense of belonging within Kaupapa Māori organisations : a research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025) Gisa, Kim
    Refugees experience stressful, dangerous and overall life-changing events from the cause of their flight from home to their transit, and even through till their (re)settlement. It is through their difficult journeys where their sense of belonging needs to be renegotiated, even when they may be perceived as ‘safe’ and out of danger within their new place of settlement, and a sense of belonging may not occur automatically. With New Zealand taking in 1500 quota refugees annually through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the country seeks to help these refugees (re)settle and make Aotearoa New Zealand their new home and regain a sense of belonging. Within the context of New Zealand, while there are various organisations involved in refugee (re)settlement this research focuses on Kaupapa Māori organisations that have set out to support former refugees to eventually lead healthier, happier and self-sufficient lives within their communities. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore whether, and how former refugees’ sense of belonging is supported by interacting with Kaupapa Māori led organisations. Through this research, qualitative approaches were utilised by way of one-on-one interviews with staff members that work with former refugees from a Kaupapa Māori organisation based in Auckland, New Zealand called Kahui Tū Kāha. Through application of a value-based approach and belonging conceptual lens, this research highlights the various cross-cultural connections that can be seen between the diverse cultures of former refugees and how these then intersect with Kaupapa Māori framings. These findings support the idea that Kaupapa Māori values and cultural factors help refugees better connect to a new country and respective community, while also highlighting the role of belonging as a key contributor to positive well-being outcomes
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    Te Kete Tua-ātea, Māori modelling of the future and the kaitiakitanga of water : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Baker, Mahina-a-rangi
    This research arose from the experience of our iwi, Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, struggling to control the future trajectory of the health of our water and the health of our people. We came to recognise that our political aspiration to realise our tino rangatiratanga in relation to water was strongly dependent on our knowledge capability, in particular, our capability to identify, examine and communicate the likely effects of future scenarios on our water. The aim of this thesis was to propose and operationalise a mātauranga Māori framework and futuring tools that iwi can apply in decision-making to assist them in realising the futures they wish to see for water systems. Ngā Kete o te Wānanga has been presented as a complete mātauranga Māori theoretical framework, and each kete or component has informed the generation and application of specific aspects of knowledge and the tools that are required for the kaitiakitanga of water. Te Kete Tua-uri has informed the production of a rich iwi ontology of water that provides a more in-depth understanding of what water ‘is’ from a Te Āti Awa perspective. Te Kete Aronui has informed the development and application of tools to facilitate observations across the broad iwi values of water. These include novel tools for monitoring the integrity of decision-making processes, and a survey tool for monitoring the well-being attributes of wairua and whakapapa connectivity in our rohe. The research has shown how the recognition and revitalisation of Te Kete Tua-ātea knowledge and tools as a distinct field of mātauranga Māori is particularly crucial to the practice of kaitiakitanga. This has involved developing and applying futuring tools such as quantitative models to generate knowledge about the infinite possible future scenarios for our water catchments that can be used to inform decision-making processes. The application of Ngā Kete o te Wānanga can make a significant contribution to improving the way that water is cared for in Aotearoa. The research has demonstrated the power of returning to the enduring wisdom of mātauranga Māori, and the benefits of a kaupapa/values-based, whole-of-system, future-oriented approach to water care.
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    Restoring the mauri of coastal dune lake ecosystems : the case study of Lake Waiorongomai, Ōtaki, Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning, at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa/New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Spinks, Aroha Huia Christine
    This doctoral thesis documents and analyses a six-year, hapū-led, iwi-and community-supported, kaupapa-Māori-based (Māori-cultural-values-based) project that resulted in the transformative change of a dune lake ecosystem (which included people i.e., a whānau Māori ecosystem). Lake Waiorongomai, just north of Ōtaki, is a culturally-significant ancestral landscape and wāhi tapu (sacred site) for local whānau (extended families), hapū (sub-tribes) and iwi (tribes). The mana (prestige), mauri (life force) and ecological wellbeing of this wāhi tapu was diminished as a result of forest clearance, hydrological modification of the lake catchment, and the effects of pastoral farming activities. Attempts over the last three decades to bring Māori land owners and hapū members together to re-instate the mana and mauri of the dune lake ecosystem met with limited success. This thesis documents and seeks to better understand: (i) the conditions that gave rise to a successful restoration project; and (ii) the factors that empowered this hapū-led project. The study shows that conditions that contributed to a successful project involved: (i) collective land owner, local hapū and iwi support; (ii) a kaupapa Māori approach; (iii) project activities guided by the expression of rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and the contributions of a kaitiaki team who were appointed by hapū members; and (iv) the engagement of a kaupapa Māori researcher to support the hapū initiative and their revitalisation aspirations. Transformative change in this case study was change that had positive effects on physical, cultural, social, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. In the Lake Waiorongomai restoration project, the outcomes that had positive effects for the whānau Māori ecosystem include, but are not limited to: (i) fencing the lake with a 50m riparian margin; (ii) fencing the Waiorongomai Stream with a 10m riparian margin; (iii) community involvement in planting more than 3000 native plants, translocating over 1000 harakeke (swamp flax), and trapping over 100 pests (including stoats and ferrets); and (iv) reconnection of whānau and hapū members to the lake, through regular wānanga and ongoing restoration activities such as winter planting days. The habitat within the lake and surrounding wetlands provided opportunities to observe amongst other things threatened species such as the tiny button daisy, raoriki (swamp buttercup), fennel-leaved pond weed, matuku (bittern), kotuku ngutupapa (royal spoonbill), kotuku (white heron), parera (grey ducks), weweia (dab chicks) and pūweto (spotless crake). The improvement in the wellbeing of two species, inanga (whitebait) and watercress, over the course of the study is of particular note, since these species hold customary value for whānau and hapū. A central focus of this research is the relationship that ecological wellbeing and whānau, hapū, iwi wellbeing are inextricably linked. In summary, this hapū-led, community supported project took initial, confident steps in reclaiming, reframing and re-instating the mana and mauri of this whānau Māori ecosystem. This thesis argues that transformative changes were generated by empowering factors that were closely linked with: (i) the creation of a project space that allowed the free expression of kaupapa and tikanga (customs) in a socially and culturally mediated journey; (ii) whānau and hapū members’ expressions of kaupapa and tikanga that enhanced the success of this project; (iii) contributions of iwi members, councils and the wider community; (iv) the sharing and developing of mātauranga (knowledge) including through the involvement of learning institutes (e.g. whare wānanga, kura kaupapa, kōhanga reo and university students); and (v) a synthesis of Māori and Western restoration and research methods (including ecological monitoring). These empowering factors assisted in affirming to local hapū members that their expressions of kaupapa and tikanga were crucial in generating initial lake ecosystem wellbeing improvements including the enhancement of mauri. Two key lessons can be drawn from the role of these various factors in transformative change. First, no individual contribution was enough to ensure the success of the restoration. However, when a safe kaupapa and tikanga space was created for the inclusion of all contributors, the total effect was more than the sum of the individual parts (i.e., a synergistic outcome resulted). Second, the results indicate that it is highly unlikely that a Western methodological approach on its own would have been as successful in achieving a project outcome of this kind. A comparison of the key characteristics of kaupapa Māori and action research showed that a kaupapa Māori research methodology was the most appropriate for this case study. As such, this thesis may enhance current action research theory and method by showing how it could be responsive to cultural values, knowledge, customs and language in a real-world, wicked problem context of this kind. In documenting and exploring the various conditions and factors that made this restoration project possible, this thesis provides environmental planners and policy makers a real-world window into how transformative and progressive communityecosystem outcomes can be achieved in a Māori cultural context through the use of a kaupapa Māori approach.