Many Māori researchers have mahi-toi skills. Mahi-toi, arts and the production of art, is where a concept takes physical form, and is brought into the physical realm by mahi-ā-ringa. The mahi-toi practitioner is the conduit. When the practitioner is also the researcher and vice versa, these vernaculars can enrich each other, and structure the work. Setting research writing practice beside mahi-toi practice also lends theoretical and analytical frameworks that could be useful for mahi-toi practitioners making the transition to academic research. In this article, I focus on mahi-toi as the scaffolding for theoretical analysis and writing frameworks across the arts.

Mātauranga Māori has become commonplace in international sport events involving New Zealand athletes and teams to create a national identity. The heart of this article examines the journey and implementation of mātauranga Māori into the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth games teams at Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Delhi 2010. The experiences of one cultural advisor (referred to here as CA), who is also an ex-Olympian, are presented through an analysis that considers the principles of rangatiratanga and ōritetanga as advocated in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.