Indigenous knowledges
Māori are Tangata Whenua (the people of the land), the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Māori approaches to managing the environment and interactions between humans and the natural world were based on traditional knowledge, worldviews, and values.
Tangata Whenua
the people of the land
Pre-colonisation, Māori had long undisturbed occupation of Aotearoa and developed an intimate understanding of the environment over generations.
As Tangata Whenua, Māori established a unique culture intrinsically linked to land and developed a ‘strict system designed to regulate human activity with respect to nature’.
Photo: "Celebrating Matariki at Archives New Zealand" by Archives New Zealand is licensed under CC BY 2.0.


The night sky
a repository of knowledges
An example of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) in relation to space is the Maramataka.
The Maramataka is a stellar, lunar, ecological calendar developed by Māori. It was used to guide the planting and harvesting of crops, fishing and hunting.
Maramataka translates as ‘moon rotating’.
The phases of the moon were combined with the movement of the sun and stars, along with other environmental and biological indicators to track the passage of time.
It continues to provide a connection to ancestral knowledges and promotes tikanga (customs).
S.M.A.R.T
Society Of Māori Astronomy Research & Traditions

A bicultural vision
The colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand is founded on negotiated treaties and agreements made between nations of hapū (the primary political unit in traditional Māori society) and the British Crown.
There are two sets of founding documents which were written in both English and Māori (but not an exact translation of each other), entitled He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni/The Declaration of Independence New Zealand (1835) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi (1840).
Each agreement reaffirmed the continued authority of Māori tribes over their tribal territories and legitimised a form of colonial authority over new settlers. The terms set out in the founding documents provided a bicultural vision and framework for the co-existence of two distinct authorities and foundation of a bicultural society.
