This article explores the Indigenous principle of kaitiakitanga as it relates to Māori agrifood practices. Our discussion is based on interviews with a small cross-section of Māori in the agrifood sector whose practices are informed by a long-standing appreciation of the interconnected realities of lands, food, people and waterways. We consider how the shared Kaupapa Māori principles underpinning these food practices form part of a wider Kaupapa Māori land, water and food systems approach which we call “Kai Ora”. As is evident in the stories that follow, Kaupapa Māori values are practised in diverse ways by different kaitiaki food producers.

What role can marae communities play in a post-COVID-19 lockdown “reset”? This situation report looks at the opportunity of unlocking innovation within marae kin communities through developing food system enterprises. It considers the idea of regenerating gardens and associated initiatives. It argues that gardens that once fed local kin communities may not only provide kai for locally resident members but also be developed at new scales and so provide for kin members wherever they live.

As the government shifts its focus from COVID-19 elimination to addressing the longer-term social and economic repercussions of the pandemic, it is critical that Māori are able to partner and lead in decision-making. In the new normal of a post-COVID Aotearoa, the transformational vision of just

In this situation report I highlight how Te Tiriti o Waitangi is relevant to state and Māori regulation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting also that it was somewhat ignored by Aotearoa New Zealand’s state institutions during the country’s initial response. Focusing on the te reo text of Te Tiriti

as the constitutionally and legally primary text of the Treaty of Waitangi, I argue, first, that Te Tiriti requires joint Māori and state regulation over the territories and peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, including with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, Te Tiriti requires state government to

Gout is a health condition that can be managed to prevent morbidity and premature mortality. Māori have a higher prevalence of gout yet are less likely to receive appropriate care than non-Māori. There is scant literature presenting the patient/whānau voice relating to the health system response to gout. The study reported in this article aimed to highlight barriers and enablers in achieving best practice management of gout as defined by patients in order to inform the development of appropriate pathways and services. Using a Kaupapa Māori approach, interviews were undertaken with 23 participants as part of a multi-layered intervention to improve the management of gout for Māori.

This article is written as a provocation. By re-examining the practice of discouraging children from speaking te reo Māori in schools, we challenge our students and other researchers to be alert to the ways in which Māori are often positioned in critical research. Many otherwise radical accounts that focus on Māori assimilation into a Western social order unwittingly take a coloniser-centric approach, inevitably representing Māori as passive non-agents.

Indigenous wisdom traditions regard knowledge as an active and creative process of coming to know. Descriptions of the emergence of knowledge are found in cosmological whakapapa narratives, which reflect and inform an Indigenous worldview. Outlined in this article is an Indigenous Māori research paradigm that is underpinned by the cosmological whakapapa and describes knowledge creation as a relationship with experience. A Māori methodological framework, Te Hihiri process, is offered as a research tool to keep researchers grounded in Indigenous wisdom, guided by ancestral knowledge and entrenched in spirit.

This article explores the impact on whānau wellbeing following wāhine being transferred to either secondary or tertiary care hospitals to receive health care for themselves or their baby during the birthing journey. It was found that throughout this process, the wāhine and whānau faced a series of challenges that compromised their wellbeing. Feeling isolated from their home, support networks and baby, and not fulfilling their motherhood expectations were major challenges.

In 2018, we curated the Te Takarangi Book List: a collection of 150 Māori-authored non-fiction books. The list profiles some of the important Māori leaders, thinkers and authors of our time. From the first book published about the Māori language in 1815 to the works of current Māori scholars, researchers and writers making their mark and claiming a voice in the research environment of Aotearoa New Zealand, this is a sample list to celebrate. This article details how we curated this special book list and highlights some of the undeniable themes that emerge when a mass of books are purposely brought to sit together.

The 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration) has gained increasing attention as a tool for promoting Indigenous rights. The study reported in this article contributes to the discussion about the Declaration’s effectiveness by analysing its role in advancing Indigenous peoples’ self-determination. A qualitative case study was conducted between January and February 2018 with 18 Māori activists in Aotearoa New Zealand, using a rights-based and Indigenous-based approach to form the analytical framework.