Toitū te Mātauranga Māori: The Protection of Mātauranga Māori in the Publishing Industry

Abstract

Tahau-Hodges, P. (2020). Toitū te Mātauranga Māori: The Protection of Mātauranga Māori in the Publishing Industry. (A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago, Dunedin, Aotearoa, New Zealand).

ABSTRACT

This dissertation focuses on the protection of mātauranga Māori in the Aotearoa New Zealand publishing industry. Mātauranga Māori is Māori knowledge in its most expansive and all-encompassing form. It is fortified with all the values, experiences, attitudes and worldviews handed down by our tīpuna (ancestors), and reflects Māori ways of being, knowing, and thinking. Publishing is a means by which Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) and other Indigenous peoples can preserve our mātauranga (knowledge) for future generations. However, there are a plethora of issues and challenges concerning the protection of mātauranga Māori in the publishing industry.

The primary objective of this research is to explore issues and challenges concerning the protection of mātauranga Māori in the publishing sector. Many of these issues relate to a conceptual divide that exists between Pākehā understandings of property, and how Māori and other Indigenous peoples view the world, share knowledge, and express culture.

This research provides a literature review about Indigenous knowledge and mātauranga Māori, and explores understandings and definitions of these concepts. It looks at the many facets of the publishing industry as the context for this research and examines where and how mātauranga Māori features in this sector. It presents a summary of the issues and challenges identified through interviews with experienced publishing practitioners. Finally, it offers a conceptual model developed as a tool for publishing practitioners so that they can better protect mātauranga Māori in the publishing industry.