Te Tāhuhu Matatau: Empowering kaitiaki of Tangaroa

This project builds on the Tāhuhu Matatau Te Ao Tangaroa project. This found there were limited digital resources for kaitiaki developed by Māori for Māori. The project team, with participating hapū and kaitiaki, co-developed a prototype of an online pātaka mātauranga / digital resource.

This project is part of the New Zealand government’s Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge / Ko ngā moana whakauka.

Project activities include a marine spatial mapping tool to assist with reclaiming mātauranga Māori and digital resources to improve science communication between academics and kaitiaki. There are Māori tools and frameworks to help academics and government agencies engage with kaitiaki. There is guidance to help Māori maintain online resources beyond the life of this project.

The aim is to empower kaitiaki with relevant environmental management approaches, frameworks and tools for an EBM approach.

They want an online experience that uplifts the mana of mātauranga Māori. They envisage geospatial / temporal digital mapping solutions and storage of mātauranga in a safe accessible digital platform. They want digital dissemination of mātauranga meaningful to kaitiaki and researchers, now and into the future.

The research wants to find mapping solutions enabling kaitiaki to geo-reference knowledge related to their traditional indicators, and observations of marine degradation and recovery. They will investigate the possibilities of temporal mapping to help recover intergenerational knowledge transfer.

Solutions will be developed in accordance with tikanga Māori. Appropriate consents will be gained before collection, with online information held in the appropriate privacy levels.