News

Exploring the Interface of Science and Mātauranga Māori

19 January 2008

Byline:	Patricia Te Arapo Wallace (Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury)
Source:	Humanities Research Network

A paper given at Transformations '07: Composing the nation: ideas, peoples, histories, languages, cultures, economies, the Congress of Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities (VUW, Wellington, 27-28 August 2007).

INTRODUCTION
In the alleged bicultural environment of New Zealand, exploring the interface of broad-spectrum science and mātauranga Māori presents an illogical challenge. The Encarta Dictionary defines 'bicultural' as: 'relating to or containing two cultures'. It defines 'science' as: 'the study of the physical world and its manifestations, especially by using systematic observation and experiment', and as the knowledge gained by such study, or as 'any activity that is the object of careful study or that is carried out according to a developed method'. Similarly, mātauranga Māori can be described as 'the knowledge, comprehension or understanding of everything visible or invisible that exists across the universe.'(1) It includes concepts of language (te reo), traditional environmental knowledge (tāonga tuku iho, mātauranga o te taiao), traditional knowledge of cultural practice - such as healing and medicines (rongoā), fishing (kai moana) or cultivation (mahinga kai) - and more (2). It is all-encompassing and such knowledge is invariably the product of generations of observation and experiment. While some different levels of mātauranga Māori are not widely discussed and shared, in the context of this paper the term is used to encompass traditional knowledge that relates to science themes of the 21st century, by drawing attention to what might be called 'tūpuna (or Māori ancestral) sciences'. Reasonably, one might expect that there should be no difficulties in traversing between the general and the tūpuna sciences. Yet despite the broad similarities in defining these two knowledge systems, and regardless of the official endorsement of biculturalism and the acknowledgement of Treaty of Waitangi partnership, evidence shows that current New Zealand institutional practice still fails to demonstrate an open engagement with the epistemic system of mātauranga Māori.

The objectives of Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities are clearly set out on their website(3). By publicly acknowledging the obligations of Treaty partnership, the Council accepts and undertakes to maintain a commitment to recognising the importance of mātauranga Māori. Defining the scope of the humanities, the Council makes clear that these are "bodies of knowledge and modes of enquiry and reflection concerning what it is to be human..." Furthermore, the Council adds:

"... that in the more holistic Māori world view te kete aronui (the basket of secular or profane knowledge), one of ngā kete wānanga (the three baskets of knowledge), may encompass theoretical and practical knowledge about the sciences as well as the humanities."

Indicative of this philosophy, The Humanities Research Network Te Whatunga Rangahau Aronui - Linking Minds and Energies in the Arts, Culture and the Humanities, explains their rationale:

"to encourage new ways of thinking about the overlapping domains of knowledge which are represented by the arts, humanities, social sciences, other related fields like law, and mātauranga Māori, and new relationships among their practitioners."(4)

Thus the humanities' philosophy demonstrates a clear acceptance of the need to operate an open-minded inclusive policy with the potential to cross boundaries. In comparison, however, at a practical level beyond the humanities, genuine engagement with mātauranga Māori is difficult to find. There is widespread failure to recognize that such "bodies of knowledge and modes of enquiry and reflection concerning what it is to be human" cannot be adequately addressed in a New Zealand forum without acknowledging the centuries of mātauranga Māori, i.e. the scientific practice and technology that enabled the Māori people to survive in Aotearoa, before the 18th century arrival of European settlers with their still-developing Eurocentric scientific perspectives. Moreover, too often when mātauranga Māori is acknowledged in the current New Zealand environment, it seems as a 'politically correct add-on' rather than a legitimate 'underpinning factor'. While conceding that there are real, substantive methodological, operative and cognitive framing differentials between 'tūpuna science' and the post-Enlightenment paradigm of 'Western' science, some closer engagement between these epistemic frameworks is critical in the emerging knowledge economy of Aotearoa.

USING SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE TO MEET BASIC PHYSICAL HUMAN NEEDS
Human beings require a range of emotional and physical needs to be met in order to survive. Three of the basic physical needs have been defined as food, clothing and shelter. Not so long ago, these were identified as 'home science' or 'domestic science' in New Zealand's school curricula. Nonetheless, Māori tangata whenua met all of these needs by employing their own indigenous forms of scientific (as technological pragmatics) practice and technology, very often utilising what is now described as Māori environmental knowledge (MEK). Although some aspects of the ecosystem and biota did not survive, Māori gradually developed a range of ecological management techniques and established relevant tikanga (protocols) for sustainable practice. They studied their ecosystem, developed skills in fishing, hunting, gathering and gardening; and devised methods of storing and preserving supplies to last them over the months when seasonal foods were less readily available. They did this well. On his first visit to New Zealand in 1769, Lieutenant James Cook recorded that Māori caught more fish more quickly than his own people. This was simply because their studied knowledge of the feeding habits of the different local species of fish meant that Māori were better at fishing. Māori fish hooks were species-specific in design. Even when Māori acquired iron from pakeha to make fish hooks, they used it to replicate the traditional form that had been developed by their ancestors(5). Their environmental knowledge involved developing the technologies to ensnare birds and kiore (Polynesian rats) at their most plump and flavoursome; the establishment of rahui (temporary prohibitions) to protect food sources or peoples deemed to be at risk; the seeding of shell fish beds; and the seasonal harvesting of migratory eels.(6)

Māori employed their own adaptive earth sciences to modify local soil conditions in order to grow Polynesian root crops successfully. They used river sands to break up clay soils, built raised garden beds by adding rocks and stones to keep the soil temperature warm, indicating proficient horticultural practices. Māori gardens were carefully tended; the cultivation of crops was an important element of society. Numerous named varieties of kumera were known, ranging from white skinned and white fleshed through to purple skinned and purple fleshed.(7) Māori skill in detecting environmental indicators that forecast changes in weather and climate were brought into play. When late spring frosts were foreseen, plants were protected by blanketing smoke from night fires lit around gardens at risk.(8)

Three practices of food preservation: (1) dehydration, (e.g. whitebait, eels and other kai moana), (2) exclusion of air (e.g. titi and other birds, and kiore - rats - sealed in their own fat) and (3) cool storage (e.g. rua kumera, cool underground, dark, dry) or in the pataka (high, dark and dry) - were soundly based on scientific principles that food scientists of today will recognise. Accepting that these are adaptive technological (rather than high-level epistemic) practices, they testify to a uniquely Polynesian mode of husbanding the resources of their environment.

The primary clothing needs of Māori were adequately met by sewing bird skins and seal skins together, and subsequently by the development of weft twining techniques along with adaptation of other plaiting processes. Weaving demands a certain mathematical understanding; the use of mordents to achieve coloured yarns demonstrates a facility in the use of chemical reagents. All of these achievements reveal the application of scientific practice and the development of sophisticated technological skills, to which contemporary clothing and textile technicians can still relate today.

Housing needs were also met without the use of metal, demonstrating a clear understanding of timber varieties and their properties. Different traditional methods of insulation were practiced within the structural walls of tūpuna whare. Outside, trenches of manuka branches could be buried at right angles to the nearest waterways, to encourage appropriate soil drainage of the land areas around the kainga or housing settlements.(9)

Meeting these practical needs might be considered as part of so-called or soft sciences, in that they inform the study of human adaptations to the world. Alternatively these Māori practices can be construed as environmental science, the study of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. This interdisciplinary science provides an overlapping framework for categories that include the natural sciences, the engineering sciences and the social sciences. In nature, environmental science focuses on pollution and the degradation of the environment in correlation to human activities and their impact on biodiversity and sustainability.(10) However, an investigation of some important national training providers reveals the effective exclusion of Māori scientific practice, to the extent that one might even assume some kind of unwritten policy at the highest levels symptomatic of a conviction that Māori scientific knowledge is not 'valid science'.

According to the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology, food science is the study of the sciences as they apply to the food that we eat(11). Other descriptions include: a highly interdisciplinary applied science; one of the agricultural sciences; a discipline concerned with all technical aspects of food, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and including the sensory and nutritional properties of food; as well as post-harvest handling, preservation and storage and ending with its cooking and consumption. Food technology entails the use of science and engineering to develop and process food products which are safe to eat, are nutritious and appealing to consumers. The words may be different, but the outcome is the same; these sciences are precisely the same food practices employed by Māori for centuries.

Clothing practices offer a similar parallel. According to Otago University, their Clothing and Textile Sciences courses aim to provide the terminology, theoretical bases and practical competencies needed to analyse the structure, function and tensile 'behaviour' of clothing and various materials including textiles and leather. The two major areas of study in Clothing and Textile Sciences at Otago are physical and social. In the physical domain discussion and experimentation focus on (1) the inter-relationships among properties of fibres, yarns and materials and garment/product design, (2) assembly processes, and (3) performance. Further competencies include (4) human body measurements in relation to garment fit, design, processes and performance; and (5) evaluation and acceptability of apparel and materials. In the social domain, discussion and research each focus on (1) the definition, classification and meaning of dress within a cultural and historical context; (2) theoretical perspectives; (3) the social, cultural, historical and economic functions of dress; (4) dress as material culture; and (5) apparel manufacturing, marketing and distribution.(12) For Māori weavers, the properties of fibres, yarns, materials and the attendant challenges of garment design and related processes were paramount. The makers of Māori clothing lived with and 'addressed' the social, cultural, historical and economic functions of designing and constructing their garments.

Without exploring housing issues and building techniques, it is clear that the traditional world of the Māori had developed effective and sustainable scientific and ethno-technological practices in all of these areas. It is therefore highly disturbing to find that nowhere in the published profile of many such educational institutions is traditional Māori knowledge or applied scientific practice acknowledged, let alone considered or valued sufficiently to be allowed to stand alone as a valid body of systematized knowledge and practice.

STATUS OF MĀTAURANGA MĀORI IN NATIONWIDE RESEARCH FORA
That Māori achievement is not recognised in the so-called 'soft sciences' is bad enough, but absence of genuine recognition in important national research fora is worse. The Association of Crown Research Institutes Inc, ACRI, is the national organisation for Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and works on behalf of science research and innovation with government, business and the wider community.(13) One stated goal of ACRI is to act as a bridge between science, business and other parts of society. ACRI has a declared mission 'of providing policy, organisational, relationship and advocacy support for crown research institutes, in their collective championing of the economic transformation of New Zealand'. This requires ACRI's active participation in 'Fostering appreciation of the value of science and technology in creating economic, environmental and social wealth for New Zealand'.(14) But the ACRI bridge does not appear to extend to the potential scientific knowledge of Māori society, nor does the Association's active support in 'fostering appreciation of the value of science and technology' appear to acknowledge that any alternative epistemic system might exist in this country, let alone have any value.

Crown Research Institutes are the science research businesses owned by the Crown (i.e. the New Zealand Government). They were formed in 1992 from existing government-owned research bodies, the largest of which was the DSIR (Department of Scientific & Industrial Research) established in 1926. Their members consist of: AgResearch (AgResearch Limited), Crop & Food Research (NZ Institute for Crop & Food Research), ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited), GNS Science (Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited), HortResearch (Horticulture and Food Research Institute), Industrial Research (Industrial Research Limited), Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd), NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), and Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited).

The concept of incorporating Māori sciences into established science research centres is not new. In 1994, Dr Margaret Mutu published a paper on 'Māori Science and the Crown Research Institutes of Aotearoa/New Zealand'.(15) According to Mutu, in 1991 the Minister of Science, Research and Technology appointed Māori directors to seven of the original ten Establishment Boards to ensure that the new institutes served Māoridom. Despite this, there was no legislative power or target resources to guarantee that Māori advice could be implemented, and the government of the day (1992) "refused to allow Māori membership of the powerful policy-making and funding allocation bodies associated with the CRIs". Māori submissions to government on the Setting of Science Priorities seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

In 2007, the same issue was re-examined. The websites of these entities were 'browsed' as part of the research for this paper, and are quoted extensively. While accepting that this information may be limited, and that some details may not be up-to-date, it must also be agreed that this is where Joe Public would start his search for this kind of data. (At the same time, in fairness it is also stated that this paper does not intend to trivialize the many new research initiatives of iwi and hapu that are being developed in good faith around the country, with the cooperation of different CRIs).

This examination of the websites of these Crown entities showed a variety in the levels of engagement with mātauranga Māori.

1. AgResearch
As the largest CRI, with scientists and teams working on pastoral industries, food processing and developing other innovative products, the mission of AgResearch is focused around three complementary objectives: to underpin the New Zealand pastoral sector's sustainability and profitability, to establish a range of biotechnologies and systems in New Zealand, and to export these where appropriate. AgResearch has a bilingual Māori focus page on its website where Mana Māori is acknowledged:

"AgResearch have much to learn from Māori about their philosophies regarding "Mana Whenua, Mana Moana and Mana Tangata".

Māori have much to learn from AgResearch about the value that science plays in maintaining "Mana Whenua, Mana Moana and Mana Tangata"."

AgResearch also has a National Māori Strategist and support a number of measures to encourage Māori farming; nonetheless, no evidence of mātauranga Māori in practice was recorded.(16)

2. Crop and Food Research
The New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research Limited (Mana Kai Rangahau) is a biological science company that researches sustainable land and water use, high performance plants, personalised foods, high value marine products, and biomolecules and biomaterials. While there is no specifically Māori focused web-page, Dr Meto Leach is the designated leader for Māori research. The Institute asserts keenness to build long-term research and commercialisation partnerships that will combine Māori strengths and values with its own, through a negotiation process called Te Pūtahitangi o nga wai (or Te Pūtahi).

It seems that Crop and Food Research objectives of engaging Māori at 'a meaningful level', and being 'proactive in science/dialogue areas attractive to Māori' are taking place. One project is investigating the commercial potential of an early white-skinned, white-fleshed cultivar of Māori kumara as a gourmet food.(17) Novel ways of preparing kaanga pirau (fermented corn) are being researched, including the development of a gourmet, hummus-like paste, to find a more appealing taste for potential export markets.(18) Yet another project, is attempting to identify Māori use of indigenous plants in foods and flavourings, with the prospect of developing distinctive New Zealand food products to be targeted towards niche, high-value export markets.(19)

Furthermore, an example of the integration of mainstream science with traditional Māori knowledge, specifically a health science, can be seen in work conducted by Leach in conjunction with the late Hohepa Kereopa, Tūhoe's well known tohunga rongoā (Māori medicine expert). With the stated aim of improving socio-economic and health outcomes for Māori, this project is investigating traditional Māori usage of indigenous flora for medicinal purposes. The selection, preparation and curative uses of rongoā sources by Tūhoe will be documented, and from this, the bioactive compounds responsible for the medicinal properties are to be identified.(20)

3. Environmental Science and Research
The ESR (Environmental Science and Research - Manaaki Tangata Taiao Hoki) supplies a variety of commercial scientific services ranging from applied science and research, consultancy and analytical services, through to the provision of advanced scientific information systems. Their specialist science solutions relating to public health, environmental health and forensic science are provided to major clients such as the Ministry of Health, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST). In addition, ESR has an established base of commercial clients and an expanding number of overseas clients.(21)

The ESR Māori development page declares a preference for:

"long-term relationships with Māori that benefit both partners. Māori development, traditional skills and knowledge have to be brought together, and there should be Māori in every part of the science sector."

ESR has also begun working with iwi to develop scholarships and education support, and is attempting to provide incentives for young Māori students to continue studying science.(22)

Under the Māori Development heading, the ESR Research Projects page acknowledges that both:

"ESR staff and people in Māori communities have stores of scientific knowledge and research expertise to bring to bear on identifying the causes of problems and on finding innovative solutions."

Some current projects explore environmental health issues; specific projects between 1995-99 assessed the health safety aspects of some traditional Māori food preservation practices.(23) Reportedly arising from some concern that the knowledge surrounding these foods might become lost, the collaborative work coordinated by Te Runaka ki Otautahi o Kāi Tahu at Lincoln University looked at Māori food preservation techniques from around the country as they related to tiroī/toroī (mussels and puha), fermented kina (sea urchin), kānga kopiro (fermented corn) and the titi (mutton-bird). Mishandling of these products could result in the formation of marine algal biotoxins - which might be comparable with the organoleptic qualities of the end products of other indigenous peoples using similar practices.(24)

4. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
GNS Science (the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences) specialises in the geosciences and related technologies; geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geochronology. Many of the staff of nearly 300 are world-class researchers, working in the nine sections that make up GNS Science: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Active Landscapes, Hydrocarbons, Geothermal & Minerals, Groundwater, Mapping, Geological Time, and Isotope Applications.

However, while elements of GNS science themes can be recognized as rudiments of 'tÅ«puna earth sciences', no reference to mātauranga Māori was found. While Māori did not make use of minerals, their knowledge of the lithosphere was both substantial and practical. The oral tradition of Poutini, the guardian taniwha of the West Coast (South Island) is but one example of this knowledge. Poutini was hotly pursued by Tamaāhua for abducting his wife Waitaiki. The chase began at TÅ«hua (Mayor Island) then moved through Tahanga (on the Coromandel Peninsula), Whangamatā, Rangitoto (D'Urville Island), Whangamoa (in the hills above Nelson), Onetāhua (Farewell Spit), Pāhua, Takiwai (Milford Sound) to Arahura. The story is in fact an oral map, and has been described as the first 'geological survey' of New Zealand.(25) The place names are a record of where Māori could find important stone sources.

TÅ«hua	Mayor Island	obsidian
Tahanga	on the Coromandel	basalt
Whangamatā		obsidian
Rangitoto	D'Urville Island	argillite
Whangamoa	above Nelson	argillite
Onetāhua	Farewell Spit	argillite
Pāhua		flint
Takiwai	Milford Sound	bowenite
Arahura		pounamu

Similarly, the story of the eponymous ancestor Ngātoro I Rangi calling on his far distant whanau to send fire to warm him at his location on Ngaruahoe demonstrates a significant comprehension of geothermal activity.(26) Examples of other Māori knowledge such as atmospheric sciences can also be found. It is a teasing irony that had GNS the open-mindedness to acknowledge mātauranga Māori in a meaningful way, it could lay claim to centuries of experience of earth science in Aotearoa rather than the mere 130 years it currently claims.

5. HortResearch
HortResearch is described as a world-class fruit science company that employs more than 500 staff at ten sites around New Zealand. It aims to use the country's unique resources in fruit, plants and environmentally sustainable production systems to produce innovative fruit and food products(27), such as ZESPRI™GOLD kiwifruit, and the new 'baby kiwifruit' cultivars shortly expected to be released.(28)

HortResearch also have a Māori Business Development team to lead the development of research and business partnerships with Māori.(29) Their Māori partnership page advises that their team members work to bring together mātauranga and western science in a culturally respectful manner, and that alignment of HortResearch science with hapu, iwi and commercial entities provides the opportunity to improve outcomes for Māori.(30) Apart from this deferential statement, however, it was not possible to identify any serious engagement with mātauranga Māori.

6. Industrial Research Ltd
Industrial Research Ltd, IRL, defines its expertise as 'Areas of scientific and technological capability illustrated with examples ranging from fundamental science projects to commercial applications'.(31) It creates value by commercialising technology and working with business partners to develop high value business opportunities,(32) in addition to providing research and development services, technologies and products for industries involved with the high-value processing of agricultural, horticultural, forestry, marine and mineral resources.(33) One of the newest projects may see the indigenous awheto or 'vegetable caterpillar' fungus become the source of a new and high-value ingredient in some of New Zealand's biggest selling nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. Since 2004, Whenua.biz (an emergent biotechnology enterprise and charitable trust) has focused on determining the bioactivity of a range of substances found in indigenous forest fungi; the Trust states that it is motivated by a strong desire to regain and capitalise the traditional Māori knowledge associated with it.(34) This appears to be the only acknowledgement of mātauranga Māori at this site.

7. Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research
Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research is the country's foremost environmental research organization, and has a long history of working with iwi and with Māori interests. A search of the Landcare website rapidly produces pages of reference to mātauranga Māori. Analyses of scientific data and mātauranga Māori feature side by side in numerous projects, such as 'Mauriora ki ngā Oi' - a 12 year project with Hauraki Māori and the Department of Conservation (DOC) for sustainable management of the Oi (Grey-faced petrel and the Ruamāhua (Aldermen) Islands ecosystem,(35) or the '-Hikoi Whakakakahu Restoring the Mauri' project which sought to combine science, community approaches, and mātauranga Māori on ecological restoration, by building whanaungatanga partnerships at Taumutu, Arowhenua and Waihao.(36)

8. The National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research
NIWA, The National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, see themselves as New Zealand's leading provider of atmospheric and aquatic science and services. Seven National Centres have been established to address important issues that affect New Zealand: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity, Climate-Energy Solutions, Coasts and Oceans, Fisheries, National Climate Centre, Natural Hazards Centre, and Water Resources.(37) Most significantly for researchers, NIWA has recently announced a free data policy, and from July 2007 are providing free access to nationally important and archival databases over the web.(38)
NIWA's Māori Research & Development Unit is Te KÅ«waha o Taihoro Nukurangi.
A team of 14 Māori scientists, led by Dr Charlotte Severne (General Manager Māori Development) and by Apanui Skipper undertake research and provide consultancy services in the core areas of aquaculture, coasts and oceans, freshwater, and renewable energy and climate.(39)

One of the team's recent projects examined and documented Māori environmental knowledge (MEK) of weather and climate in the east of the North Island of New Zealand. Talking with elders from North Island tribal groups Ngāti Pare and Te Whānau a Apanui in semi-structured interviews, three principal strands of weather and climate knowledge were revealed: (1) naming and classifying local phenomena, (2) recording events and trends in oral histories, and (3) using environmental indicators to forecast changes in weather and climate. The team noted that these three strands of knowledge showed significant convergence with Western scientific understanding of weather and climate, and posited potential common ground that could provide a basis to bring together MEK with Western science, thereby, in their view, creating opportunities to generate new understanding of local climate variability and change.
.
Under the operations of the Natural Hazard Centre,(40) NIWA scientists have been looking at how Māori environmental knowledge can contribute to natural hazards management and mitigation. In a recent report for GNS Science, Darren King and James Goff reported 'Māori have developed a detailed knowledge of local natural hazards. This includes oral histories and traditions that record past catastrophic hazard events, place names that designate areas that are high hazard risk, and environmental indicators that inform about the safety and viability of activities linked to changes in the environment.' In the oral history of Ngai Tara, members of a settlement at Moawhitu (Greville Harbour) on the western side of Rangitoto (D'Urville) Island were drowned by a wave sometime around the sixteenth century. Physical evidence indicating a historical tsunami at Greville sand bar now supports this oral tradition.(41) The Centre states 'This is just one example where Māori environmental knowledge can help inform local communities, hazard planners, and researchers of past events which might warrant further investigation. Such accounts can also help ground-truth scientific predictions and provide supporting evidence for broad-scale models.'(42)

9. Scion
Formerly known as Forest Research, Scion (Te Papa Tipu - Growth from the land) is the CRI that focuses on ‘applying a deep knowledge of plantation forestry, wood and fibre to the development of new biomaterials from renewable plant resources'. Scion employs over 380 staff, covering a wide range of disciplines which extend from the historical focus on forestry to a cluster of Transformational Science Platforms (TSPs) TSPs are intended to delivering internationally leading science in the three specific areas of (1) Cellwall Biotechnology Centre (specialising in plant cell wall development) (2) Eco-Smart Technologies (specialising in remediation and exploitation of biological waste streams) and (3) BioMaterials Engineering (specialising in fibre-polymer interactions and selected plant-derived chemicals).(43) The Manager of their Māori Strategy is Tupara Morrison, but access to information labelled 'Working with Māori' was restricted when this web-search was undertaken.(44)

This 'cultural audit' of CRI websites demonstrates that while there is considerable variation in the acknowledgement of Māori scientific knowledge at this level, there has been negligible progress in the 13 years since Mutu's study in 1994. Placed alongside the examples of tÅ«puna sciences discussed earlier, the summary shows that comparative elements of mātauranga Māori were in practice, long before to the arrival of Europeans or the establishment of CRIs. The positive leads taken by Crop and Food Research, NIWA, and Manaaki Whenua are encouraging, although in many cases - despite funding from the public purse - the outcomes of their research are presented in academic fora, obscure publications or disappear into the archives of Government departments, rather than inform the general public.(45) In other cases, the references to mātauranga Māori are less convincing. A skeptic might suspect that CRI's are only interested in mātauranga Māori when some potential financial benefit is foreseen. To many individuals, the perceived drive to continually measure success in terms of dollar outcome reveals a shortsighted and limiting viewpoint.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL MĀTAURANGA MĀORI TO BE RECOVERED
Quite aside from the 'vegetable caterpillar' there are numerous areas of mātauranga Māori which in need of recovery. There are taonga held in national and international museums which still need to be fully investigated; for example, items such as kahu kuri, or a hei tawhiriwhiri recently rediscovered. Many such taonga are still waiting to be researched in depth and will certainly demonstrate further traditional practices of science - in the two examples given, relating to the technology used in preparing dog skins for use, or for the blending of perfumed oils. It is very probable that these could be potentially useful to New Zealand, in more ways than just in terms of economic development. What the country urgently needs is a new kaupapa paradigm that will replace accountancy driven science in New Zealand with a more flexible practice.

ENABLING ENGAGEMENT WITH MĀTAURANGA MĀORI
There are a number of reasons for the disinclination of national organisations or their personnel to acknowledge and engage with mātauranga Māori. The most obvious cause arises from the individual lack of exposure to it. For many non-Māori there has been little opportunity, formerly there was sparse academic recognition, and there are virtually no available texts.

However, by far the greatest obstacle is a legacy from the 19th century Land Wars. Today, most New Zealanders are aware that these wars were caused by increasing Māori reluctance to part with their land, and the determination of colonial authorities to open up areas for the rapidly growing numbers of European settlers.(46) The negative outcome for Māori was far more extensive than the confiscation of vast tracts of land, and the resultant loss of their economic base. The burgeoning emigrant population reduced Māori to an emasculated minority in their own homeland, losing not only their political voice but also their native tongue, by force of law. Negative settler reaction to extreme 19th century Māori resistance movements allowed the colonial government to seize the high moral ground, and demean 'native' philosophies. The Victorian settler mind-set of white, Christian, Western-civilisation superiority, supported an assumption that like the policy of terra nullius, the native mind was also void of concepts of any value. With hindsight, the injustice of the colonial government's confiscation of Māori land has been acknowledged and reparation is now taking place. Without doubt, it is time for the remaining legacy of colonial prejudice to be recognized for what it is, and to likewise be redressed.

So now the question arises: where or how can mātauranga Māori be studied? In the 21st century world, it is no longer feasible for people to 'learn on the marae' as once they would have done. There are currently some university papers which include elements of mātauranga Māori as part of a larger framework, but there are very few which offer papers with a specific focus on traditional Māori scientific practice. The University of Canterbury offers one: SCIM 101 Science, Māori and Indigenous Knowledge, which is an integrated multi-disciplinary course between the School of Māori and Indigenous Studies and the College of Science. (This course provides a basic understanding of Māori and indigenous peoples' knowledge in such fields as astronomy, physics, conservation biology, aquaculture, resource management and health sciences, providing unique perspectives in indigenous knowledge, western science and their overlap, and aiming to provide an essential background in cultural awareness and its relationship with today's New Zealand scientific community). Courses with some similarities are offered at Victoria University and Waikato; others with a strong practical emphasis combined with research are operating under the leadership of Maureen Lander and Dante Bonica at Auckland University. Currently, however, in terms of subject matter, only the tip of an ice-berg is being addressed, and those endeavouring to promote this field are often working in comparative isolation, in systems that are not always supportive. Moreover, this learning needs to begin among younger age groups. This is where the traditional Māori sciences need the respectful attention of those engaged in humanities research, because the old 'humanities versus sciences' funding debate tends to be revived when indigenous knowledge is factored into the research funding equation.

CONCLUSION
In the year 2000, ACRI produced a publication entitled Knowledge underpins quality of life.(47) The cover image of graphic cubes stacked up like building blocks conveyed an unspoken message. Their colourful icons indicated the learning that would produce such knowledge: e.g. Hamlet's soliloquy, a blonde Baroque infanta style portrait, various scientific formulae, a molecular structure, a sheet of music notation, a partial diagrammatic representation of the human circulatory system, a botanical specimen and the global perspective of planet earth. Inside, the report discussed barriers that ACRI perceived to be holding New Zealand back from becoming an innovative, knowledge-based society. Among other things, it emphasized the importance of education. But the cover made a significantly ironic pronouncement.

"New Zealand still mirrors a colonial administration. We must change to improve our quality of life. If we do not it is all down hill."

The 'colonial' allusion is entirely appropriate. There is nothing on the cover that acknowledges Māori existence. The words should be revised to read:

'New Zealand still mirrors a colonial attitude to the concept of mātauranga Māori -We must change to improve our quality of life. If we do not it is all down hill.'

There are ways to move forward, and the field of Humanities provides an important means of transforming the status quo. Our Pacific Island cousins have provided a clue. The four volume series, Science of Pacific Island Peoples, produced by the Institute of Pacific Studies in 1994, shows one way by which New Zealand can correct the Victorian perceptions that still exist, and work towards the development of new epistemes and heuristics for an indigenous ethics of knowledge. Producing something of a similar nature in this country would make a major contribution to the cultural knowledge of New Zealand and strengthen our collective national identity. A deeper understanding of our nation's cultural heritage would enable the building of mutual respect for each others' sciences, would open pathways that encourage building the knowledge-based society that is urgently sought, and would simultaneously enrich the national identity of every single New Zealand citizen.

Acknowledgements
I wish to express my appreciation of the following people for their interest and assistance in the preparation of this paper: Bruce Harding, John Pirker, Nekenekeiterangi Paul, Peter Cressey, Ocean Mercier, Anaru Reedy, Katarina Heremoana Simon, and Priscilla Wehi.

Endnotes
1) <http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/online-exhibitions/matauranga-maori>
2) <http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/online-exhibitions/matauranga-maori>
3) <http://www.humanities.org.nz/>
4) www.humanitiesresearch.net <http://www.humanitiesresearch.net/>
5) www.starfish.govt.nz/social/facts/fact-tradit... <http://www.starfish.govt.nz/social/facts/fact-traditional-maori.htm>
6) Eel gathering - <http://wairarapa.co.nz/times-age/weekly/wetlands.html> (5 February 2000)
7) Fuery, L., 2006: Maori gardening: an archaeological perspective. Department of Conservation,
Wellington. 137 p.
8) From Georgina Kiripuwai Te Aomarere www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/05/05/maori/index.html <http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/05/05/maori/index.html>
9) Personal communication, Toi Te Rito Maihi. February 2007.
10) http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/subjects/envr/. See also <http://www.sges.auckland.ac.nz/>. Economics & Development - Earth & Atmosphere - Culture & Society - Coasts & Catchments - Conservation & Ecology - Environment & Resources - Geographic Information Science & Remote Sensing - Geophysics & Engineering Geology - Hazards & Geothermal Systems
11) www.nzifst.org.nz/ <http://www.nzifst.org.nz/>
12) <http://www.otago.ac.nz/subjects/clte.html>
13) <http://www.acri.cri.nz/>
14) <http://www.acri.cri.nz/who/mission.html>
15) Mutu, Margaret, 1994. 'Maori Science and the Crown Research Institutes of Aotearoa/New Zealand' in Education, Language, Patterns and Policy: Science of Pacific Island People Vol. IV. (Eds. John Morrison, Paul Geraghty, Linda Crow). Institute of Pacific Studies, pp. 151-8.
16) http://www.agresearch.co.nz/maorifocus.asp
17) http://www.crop.cri.nz/home/company-info/maori_our_partnerships.jsp#2kumara . Pu Hao Rangi Trust, guardians of the early kumara, have joined with the Tahuri Whenua Inc. (the National Maori Vegetable Growers&rsquo; Collective), in a joint venture to explore the economic potential of New Zealand's early kumara. Technology New Zealand will fund the two-year research project. Completion due July 2007.
18) The Research for Te Runanga O Turanganui A Kiwa project is funded by the Government's TechNZ Collectives Scheme. http://www.crop.cri.nz/home/company-info/maori_our_partnerships.jsp#1corn
19) http://www.crop.cri.nz/home/news/releases/1173305992948.jsp
20) Meduna, Veronika, <http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/online-exhibitions/contemporary-scientists/traditional-knowledge> 21) <http://www.esr.cri.nz/aboutus/>
22) <http://www.esr.cri.nz/aboutus/ourorganisation/>
23) <http://www.esr.cri.nz/aboutus/ourorganisation/currentprojects.htm>
24) <http://www.esr.cri.nz/competencies/foodsafety/safety+of+traditional+MÄ?ori+foods.htm>
25) He korero purakau mo: Nga taunahanahatanga a nga tupuna: Place names of the Ancestors: A Maori Oral History Atlas, The New Zealand Geographic Board, 1990, ISBN 0-477-00049-5, pp. 79-85.
26) He korero purakau mo: Nga taunahanahatanga a nga tupuna: Place names of the Ancesors: A Maori Oral History Atlas, The New Zealand Geographic Board, 1990, ISBN 0-477-00049-5, pp. 31-38.
27) <http://www.hortresearch.co.nz/index/page/83>
28) Fresh Food Facts 2006, ff2006[1] pdf. Compiled by: J P Kerr, E W Hewett & A G Aitken, Martech Consulting Group Ltd, PO Box 31 308, Milford, Auckland 9, Tel: 09-489 5627, www.martech.co.nz
ISSN 1177-2190 ISBN 0-478-06841-7
29) E.g. Maori companies such as Wakatu Incorporated.
30) <http://www.hortresearch.co.nz/index/page/460>
31) <http://www.irl.cri.nz/scienceandtechnology/ourexpertise.aspx>
32) <http://www.irl.cri.nz/scienceandtechnology/technology-platforms/> They generate globally competitive, market viable innovations from ten technology platforms: assistive devices, carbohydrate chemistry, high temperature superconductors, high temperature superconductors, hydrogen and distributed energy, imaging and detecting, integrated bioactive technologies, measurement for industry, nanotechnology, photonics, and smart materials and structures.
33) <http://www.irl.cri.nz/industry-sectors.aspx> Their industrial sector focuses on technologies and capabilities for advanced primary processing, assets and infrastructure, biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, defence and security, energy, health and medical, high-tech manufacturing, information and communication technologies.
34) http://www.irl.cri.nz/newsandevents/innovate/Innovate64/Vegetablecaterpillarkeytonewmarkets.aspx
35) http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/programme.asp?Proj_Collab_ID=65
36) URL: <http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/researchpubs/0506-077Meurk.pdf>
37) <http://www.niwascience.co.nz/nc/>
38) <http://www.niwascience.co.nz/pubs/mr/archive/2007-07-05-1/>
39) <http://www.niwascience.co.nz/maori/>
40) <http://www.naturalhazards.net.nz/nhu/2006-11/maori>
41) Natural Hazards Update No.11 2006
42 <http://www.naturalhazards.net.nz/nhu/2006-11/maori>
43) Interactions with Maori are enabled through a national roopu, Te Aroturuki, and local Tangata Whenua (Ngati Hurungaterangi, Ngati Kahu Upoko me Ngati Taeotu o Whakaue).
44) <http://www.scionresearch.com/sitemap.aspx>
45) For example, two ESR reports were prepared for the Ministry of Health:
Whyte R, Hasell S. (1996) Food safety assessment of traditional Maori foods.
Hudson A, Hasell S. (1999) Traditional Maori food preservation (Tiroi and Fermented kina)
Some of this work has also been published in the open literature:
Whyte R, Hudson JA, Hasell S, Gray M, O'Reilly R. (2001) Traditional Maori food preparation methods and food safety. International Journal of Food Microbiology; 69: 183-190.
Hudson JA, Hasell S, Whyte R, Monson S. (2001) Preliminary microbiological investigation of the preparation of two traditional Maori foods (Kina and Tiroi). Journal of Applied Microbiology; 91: 814-821.
46) <http://www.newzealandwars.co.nz/index.htm>, <http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/new-zealands-19th-century-wars/introduction>
47) <http://www.acri.cri.nz/pdfs/acri-knowledge-booklet.pdf>. Author un-named but may be Sean Devine, Victoria Management School.