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Utilising Mātauranga to Guide Biomedical Research

Year:
2023
Duration:
36 months
Approved budget:
$138,800.00
Researchers:
Mr Mana Mitchell
,
Dr Esther Willing
,
Dr Olivia Harrison
,
Professor Peter Crampton
Host:
University of Otago
Health issue:
Wellbeing (autonomy self-determination)
Proposal type:
Māori Health PhD Scholarship
Lay summary
Rapid developments in the fields of intergenerational trauma and indigenous health literature worldwide have posed novel ethical challenges and philosophical threats to indigenous communities. This, alongside an existing need to further support and protect Māori researchers, participants and academics, means that a more comprehensive understanding of Kaupapa Māori methodologies and ethical strategies has become increasingly necessary. By analysing a number of Māori primary sources such as mōteatea (poetic songs, often laments), whakataukī (aphorisms), whakatauākī (proverbialised quotations) and pūrākau (Māori legends or tales), I hope to indentify a number of central tenets that underlie Māori philosophies. This will be further developed by interviews with tohunga (experts in the Māori world), kaiako (teachers) and kairangahau Māori (Māori researchers), to provide a depth of knowledge to the analysis. Finally, I will compare and contrast to existing ethical theories, in the hope of guiding future investigations in intergenerational trauma and leading indigenous health research.