Prologue

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive

This whakataukī (proverb) speaks to working in collaboration, and to adopting a collective and strengths-based approach. It acknowledges that everyone has something of value to contribute, and it further declares that by working together, we can all flourish.

Life in the research profession has always been fraught with ambiguity: How are we to understand the range and often-intangible methodologies and approaches on offer? What are the origins of this array of phenomena? How can we assess the respective effects of our activities? And what might be the ethical and cultural implications of our engagement? For decades, such issues have motivated lively and sometimes excitable debate, and for so long, answers seemed to be elusive. He Awa Whiria: A Braided River framework is intended to take researchers closer to an answer. With the publication of this volume, the authors have attempted to open a fresh discourse, in search of useful insights from a variety of fields of study, and in a quest for new, fair and understandable levels of consciousness. The invitation is given for a collaborative search into more viable research endeavours.

Constructing a meaningful research world requires the conceptualisation of patterns in the environment, recognition of the rules that are both unstated and expressed in human social interactions, and sufficient confidence to engage in scientific inquiry so that new knowledge can emerge. While Aotearoa New Zealand is a small player in the research world, it has particular strengths in areas of agriculture, health and earth sciences. The main entities that lead research development include universities, government organisations, research associations and consultancies, museums and scientific societies. There are ten Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE), of which one – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga – is New Zealand’s Indigenous CoRE, hosted by the University of Auckland.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has, in recent times, been offering advice and guidance to the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi on Māori research imperatives. The Royal Society Te Apārangi is an independent, not-for-profit body that provides funding and policy advice in the fields of science and the humanities. It would be fair to assume that in each of the research entities mentioned above, interdisciplinarity and collaboration are promoted and that, for the most part, Indigenous knowledge is recognised and valued as integral to research that is undertaken. In terms of the presence of Indigenous knowledge in research paradigms, many countries perceive New Zealand to be exemplary. However, as wide and as deserved as this acclaim may be, it is clear that we are not there yet.

According to Champagne (2007), the unique philosophical, pedagogical and epistemological characteristics that define Indigenous cultures are regularly in conflict with those of the dominant culture. The oral transmission of knowledge, values, customs and beliefs from one generation to the next has been an integral pedagogical aspect that continues to define Indigenous cultures. This practice has served to retain and maintain a wealth of critical cultural knowledge over time. However, the oral/aural phenomenon that defines Indigenous epistemologies is regularly dismissed by many dominant cultures, who view Indigenous knowledge and constructs as inaccurate, unscientific and baseless, and inferior to the written word (Janke, 1999).

Culturally relevant approaches to research need to play a major function in today’s global patterns of knowledge-seeking. In New Zealand, culturally relevant research requires making sense of these patterns through a Māori lens, so that the various parts of the global patterns hang together, become more coherent, and enable meaning-making to emerge with more clarity and fairness. New Zealand’s multicultural society, predicated on biculturalism, is attempting to take such steps. In particular, these transitions are occurring within contexts in which researchers are required to plan and work in spaces where cultural imperatives are included not as an ‘add on’ but as a complementary and authentic reality.

Culturally relevant approaches to research advocate for inclusiveness, wherein Indigenous ways of knowing and doing are valued. This is critical, because the minimisation of culturally relevant approaches within conventional research contexts creates the potential for the continuing inability of many researchers to truly understand the social and psychological realities of Indigenous experiences. The lack of attention to adopting culturally relevant research approaches also has the potential to inhibit transformational outcomes that are beneficial to Māori. This situation has been put on notice in recent times, and moves have been made to make matters right. It seems timely to get bold about advocacy for cultural relevance in research, and one avenue is to take an inclusive route – one that draws from two streams of knowledge in a quest for better outcomes for all.

This book has emerged after many years of encountering such challenges as a Māori researcher working in Western-dominated spaces. What has been regularly experienced is the privileging of Western knowledge – indicating that it is viewed as robust and superior – and the marginalisation of mātauranga Māori – suggesting that it is deemed weak and inferior. However, rather than show any type of disdain or disregard for the authenticity of Western knowledge, these challenges have actually been embraced, and have further provided an exciting opportunity to highlight the richness and integrity of mātauranga Māori. Throughout this journey there have been so many instances when the following questions have been ruminated upon and revisited, in a quest to respond to the challenges:

• What counts as knowledge?
• Who decides what knowledge counts?
• How does knowledge shape thinking and action?
• What are the risks to research and practice if Western knowledge is privileged or dominates?
• What are the benefits to research and practice if mātauranga Māori is acknowleded and included?
• How might research and practice authentically uphold the bicultural obligations that are inherent in our country’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi?
• How might a ‘shared knowledge space’ facilitate an equitable and partnered approach to research and practice?

This journey has resulted in the emergence of the aforementioned framework – He Awa Whiria: A Braided River – which acknowledges the mana and integrity of both knowledge streams. The framework argues that, for research and practice, the braiding of both Western and Māori knowledge systems has the potential for outcomes to be stronger than if either stream were to be working on its own.

The chapters that follow this prologue all capture and showcase rich and real-life narratives about the value of adopting a He Awa Whiria approach to research, policy and professional-practice activities. These chapters also challenge the previously dominant discourse, which proposed that there is only one source of accurate and valid knowledge. The chapter authors have been invited to share their research, perspectives and insights openly – individual chapters may express strong, challenging or contrasting views, and all are shared here in the spirit of He Awa Whiria.

So dynamic and fluid are power relations, on one hand, and the inclination to resist changes to the status quo, on the other, that it is not always easy to resolve inequity or injustice (in the field of research methodologies) by believing we can match approaches on every cultural variable or cultural marker. This volume is a break-away from essentialist thinking, and instead pivots towards highlighting and freeing progressive views that can emerge within an inclusive paradigm.

He Awa Whiria serves as a reminder that, in the research communities of New Zealand and beyond, there is a need to rethink the meanings and practices associated with the changing face of research conventions. There is also a need to carefully assess some of the major research themes – such as structure, rationality, manageability and leadership – because simply giving the appearance of acceptance, or ticking the box, of new and relevant approaches is not enough. Assessment of the research themes leads to responding to the challenges, which often means venturing into research spaces that may push boundaries and test others’ views – and this takes  ourage. However, if the creation of new thinking and practices will lead to improved outcomes, then the benefits outweigh the costs.

E ngā nui o te whakaaro, e ngā pou o te ao rangahau, e ngā pūtake o te mārama, e ngā reo, e ngā mana, tēnei te mihi ki a koutou. Anei mātou te hunga kaituhi e whāriki atu nei ki mua i te aroaro o te hunga mātauranga. Hopukina mai, wānangatia, kōrerotia, mahia ki tāu e tika ai. Nā reira, huri noa i te motu, tēnā koutou katoa.

Salutations to the theoreticians, researchers, innovators, linguists, authorities and end-users connected to this project. The authors acknowledge your contributions to your respective sectors. We encourage further considerations, discussions and relevant practices of the ideas eloquently expressed in the chapters. Thank you.

Professor Angus Hikairo Macfarlane
1 June 2023

References

Champagne, D. (2007), Social Change and Cultural Continuity Among Native Nations (Plymouth, UK: Altamira Press).

Janke, T. (1999), Our Culture, Our Future. A report on Australian cultural and intellectual property rights (Sydney, NSW: Frankel & Co.).