The first 2024 issue for MAI Journal, Volume 13, Issue 1 contains 12 articles of different subjects and 1 Commentary.  This reflects the multi-disciplinary approach for NPM research in Aotearoa.  From Traditional Knowledges to a Framework for Vision Matauranga and Safer travel options for tamariki to Reinvigorating homeplaces for our whanau and communities, we see the different areas of research undertaken by our researchers and authors in this issue for 2024.

This research explores the experiences of some kaiako at an Aotearoa tertiary provider during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Each kaiako drew inspiration from the pūrākau of Ranginui and Papatūānuku to write a personal narrative with a particular focus on the national rāhui. The objective was to better understand kaiako well- being and bicultural practice to prepare for future events with uncertain and shifting circumstances. The lived experiences of these kaiako were analysed through two lenses across two phases of analysis. The first lens used was kōrero pūrākau, using the pūrākau and context of the separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku by their tamariki.

Pacific youth in diaspora have faced many well-being challenges. This group has had to navigate the tensions between holding on to their Pacific values and participating in Western society, which at times can be contradictory. As this group comes of age in their host country, their well-being becomes ever more important. In this article, we explore the well-being journey of this cohort and their stories of resilience. We show how these groups have been able to use their Pacific culture(s) as a form of positive well-being.

Māori collectives are drawing from mātauranga and asserting rangatiratanga over disaster preparedness for the wellbeing of their communities. However, long-standing impacts of colonisation have contributed to Māori being disproportionately impacted by disasters, and to a lack of knowledge concerning the existence and availability of Māori-centred disaster risk and resilience (DRR) tools that help whānau prepare. Two key findings were drawn from a desktop literature review and thematic analysis.

The science policy framework Vision Mātauranga (VM) was launched in 2005 by the former Ministry of Research Science and Technology (MoRST) with the aim of unlocking the science and innovation potential of Māori knowledge, resources and people through “distinctive R&D” (MoRST, 2007, p. 4). Plenty of literature theorises why mātauranga Māori is necessary for innovation, but the how, or practice, of implementing VM in a meaningful way is unresolved and under-researched. In this article, we look to practice theory to identify constituent and interdependent elements that are required to form, change or embed the VM policy practice aim of distinctive R&D activities.

This manuscript presents a communication framework embedded in whakapapa. It highlights the experiences of whānau Māori as they discuss the factors that impact their health and wellbeing. It also explores how they deal with socioeconomic challenges, which are contextualised in relation to the whenua, associated ancestral place names and kinship ties. The opening of discursive spaces provides platforms for voice, and led to the establishment of māra kai on ancestral whenua and the (re) clamation of Indigenous knowledge and place names in Feilding, Manawatū.

Māori research is increasingly recognising the diversity of Māori, and no area displays this internal variation more than academic considerations of Māori gender diversity and takatāpui, which are slowly but significantly rising. While researchers have focused significantly on unearthing the diversity and realities of Māori sexuality, gender diversity has been largely overlooked.

Te Pūngāwerewere Pukumahi has been designed as a unified approach for research in Te Ao Māori that is applicable to all disciplines. It has been developed to guide researchers in creating a culturally safe space within which to undertake research collaboratively. While there are many excellent Māori research frameworks, we felt there was something missing: an all-encompassing research paradigm that embraces the underpinning values of Te Ao Māori. The identified values, our pou, consist of mātauranga, mana, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, whakawhanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, kotahitanga and rangatiratanga, with mauri at their heart and foundation.

Aotearoa New Zealand is changing. The relationship between the inequities iwi Māori face and centuries of colonisation is clear. The need to address these inequities and the embedded colonial thinking that reinforces them in our society is more widely accepted. Nowhere is this need for change more acute than in education. The challenge of embedding bicultural principles into all aspects of education is a significant step in decolonising education. The practice of learning design and the design of frameworks that guide education rarely have a clear process to support a bicultural approach.

Traditional knowledges are not homogeneous or tidy; they often contain hidden meanings and tensions. In some cases, they are contradictory and therefore understanding them requires careful analytical and critical thought. The marginalisation and exclusion of Indigenous knowledges in contemporary contexts has perhaps been (falsely) justified because they do not easily translate into non-Indigenous ways of knowing. The purpose of this article is to critically examine traditional Māori knowledge and epistemology in relation to modern challenges and meaning-making. Indigenous conceptual frameworks allow for Indigenous interpretation of our experiences on our own terms.