Whaowhia te Kete Mātauranga: Papakāinga as a Hapū Resilience Framework

Environmental hazards and climate change disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples and raises important concerns for social equity, environmental justice and disaster risk reduction. The under-representation of Indigenous peoples in natural hazard policymaking also impacts on the acceptability and relevance of disaster risk reduction initiatives to First Nations peoples. Indigenous concepts, values and understandings of environmental justice are pertinent to climate change mitigation, transformative practice and sustainable futures. This research was a collaboration between Māori academics and Māori community members and explores local understandings of Indigenous peoples of disaster risk reduction and highlights the need to maintain harmony and balance among humans and in relation to the natural world. Using a papakāinga [traditional village] framework and rongoā [healing systems], the study demonstrates how traditional Māori practices can address environmental challenges such as Per- and Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination, land degradation, biodiversity loss and increasing flood events. Findings of this study highlight the importance of Indigenous cultural strengths and holistic frameworks to achieve climate resilience and sustainable futures.