The Significance of Land Acknowledgements as a Commentary on Indigenous Pedagogies

In my decades of navigating both the academic institutional world and the world of Indigenous Peoples, the emergence of land acknowledgements in academic institutions and in public and government contexts is a fascinating story of how one small element of Indigenous pedagogies has come to be expressed in institutions that have historically reviled Indigenous Peoples. Land acknowledgements are often made as statements at important events within institutions. The land acknowledgement can be a “Welcome to Country” greeting by an elder, often given in Australia, or a formalized statement that is read out by a non-Indigenous official at an occasion such as a graduation ceremony. Indigenous pedagogies encompass the worldviews, philosophies, cultures, histories, ways of knowing and being, and practices of diverse Indigenous Peoples

Imagining our own approaches

I spent some formative years of my life either in the back of museums or their basements helping my father, a scholar of Māori Studies, and keeping myself out of trouble. In the late 1960s I had one small job in the library basement of the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, typing new labels for the captains’ log books of ships that were sailing during the American Revolution. I read most of those journals that consisted of pages and pages of wind directions with the rare glimpse of an encounter with another ship or a list of supplies. Why were we there in Salem when we came from Aotearoa, New Zealand? We were there because Salem was the home base for ships that sailed into the Pacific and returned home with collections of materials from the various Pacific Islands countries they visited. My father was studying elaborately carved items from the Marquesa Islands that looked very much like Māori designs

Indigenous knowledge, methodology and mayhem: What is the role of methodology in producing indigenous insights? A discussion from Mātauranga Māori

The emergence of an academic discourse called Indigenous knowledge internationally, and mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, presents some substantive challenges to concepts of knowing and being, of knowledge creation, knowledge work and the making of meaning. These challenges engage us across philosophical, disciplinary, institutional, inter-generational, territorial and community boundaries, presenting an opportunity to imagine this field anew, and the theories and methodologies that inform contemporary Māori or Indigenous Studies. This article raises some discussion about ‘research methodologies’ being used when discussing mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledge (hereafter referred to as IK mātauranga). Research methodologies are often associated with specific disciplines of knowledge and viewed as the primary if not singular way in which knowledge is generated. Arguably, IK mātauranga occupies a different knowledge space from traditional academic disciplines, including their transdisciplinary interstices. This article speaks to a gnawing sense that mayhem is at play, as the academic work around IK mātauranga begins to consolidate and become institutionalised away from its indigenous communities and contexts, where it began and where it still informs identities, ways of living and being

Positioning historical trauma theory within Aotearoa New Zealand

This article explores the relevance of historical trauma theory for Mäori research. In exploring the impact of historical trauma upon Mäori it has become clear that the terminology associated with historical trauma theory is considered controversial in Aotearoa New Zealand. As such, this article provides an overview of key defi nitions relevant to historical trauma and explores these in relation to recent reporting related to the use of the terms “holocaust” and “genocide” in the context of colonization in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is argued that in order to engage fully with the impacts of colonization on Mäori wellbeing we must articulate fully the impact of historical trauma events and the contribution of those events to the negative health disparities experienced by many of our whänau (extended family), hapü (sub- tribes) and iwi (tribes)

We are more than EFL teachers-we are Educators: Emancipating EFL student-teachers through photovoice

The prevailing pedagogical orientations of English as a foreign language (EFL) education in Spain oppress learners intellectually in ways that are counterproductive to their learning. As a reaction to this, 129 EFL student-teachers (STs) took part during the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 academic years in a workshop which drew on the methodology of participatory action research and on photovoice as a data-creating strategy, in order to emancipate these STs intellectually, boost their EFL development, and offer an alternative critical model for their future EFL teaching. The research was assessed collectively through a variety of qualitative strategies. Results showed that the photovoice workshop created a rich and meaningful context for EFL learning, one which enabled the STs to fully actualize their intellectual potential by producing knowledge collectively, thereby setting a memorable educational example for their own future teaching

Investigating Māori approaches to trauma informed care

This article gives an overview of a three-year Health Research Council funded research project “He Oranga Ngākau: Māori approaches to trauma-informed care”. The study is informed by Kaupapa Māori which provides both the theoretical and methodological foundation for understanding the world, exploring and conceptualising issues. The need for contextualised and culturally safe health and social services is well recognised within Aotearoa and particularly within Mental Health and Addiction Services. While trauma is an experience that can impact on all people, Māori experience trauma in distinct ways that are linked to the experience of colonisation, racism and discrimination, negative stereotyping and subsequent unequal rates of violence, poverty and ill health. Given that Māori are impacted by trauma in specific ways, it is important to explore and identify practice principles that contribute to the development of a framework that supports Māori Providers, counsellors, clinicians and healers in working with Māori. (Authors' abstract)

Kaumātua mana motuhake: Kaumātua managing life-transitions through tuakana-teina/peer-education

People face signifi cant transition points as they age, such as loss of independent living, loss of a spouse and changing health conditions. Successfully navigating these transitions depends on being able to manage emotional and socio-economic factors, as well as service systems, while often being reliant on family or whānau. Historically however, kaumātua have faced a dominant society that has failed to realise their full potential as they age. Yet, for Māori, kaumātua are “carriers of culture, anchors for families, models for lifestyle, bridges to the future, guardians of heritage and role models for younger generations.” Kaumātua mana motuhake is invested in upholding kaumātua tino rangatiratanga (independence and autonomy) via high-quality Māori research that will lead to better life outcomes for kaumātua and their whā nau

“Publishing Is Mystical”: The Latinx Caucus Bibliography, Top-Tier Journals, and Minority Scholarship

In 2014, members of the NCTE/CCCC Latinx Caucus began contributing citations to a shared Google Document (GDoc) that suggested a relatively significant contribution of scholarship to the field of Rhetoric and Composition studies. Scholars of color have argued that rhetoric and composition scholarship fails to represent diversity in academic publications (Baca; Banks; Jones Royster; Pimentel; Ruíz). This study examines statistical data arrived at through analysis of the NCTE/CCCC Latinx Caucus Bibliography, with survey and interview data from Latinx scholars providing important context about publishing for people of color