Roots or robots: futurizing Indigenous food sovereignty

We suggest how to futurize the Indigenous food sovereignty movements to influence, shape or confront future food technologies. Ensuring food security for the varied needs of humanity is an essential endeavor for existing food supply systems. The emergence of new, more sustainable food horticultural technologies is poised to be pivotal in the transformation of food systems. We captured the attitudes and perceptions of Māori, the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, through a series of focus groups exploring food technologies of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Robotics and Automated Systems (RAS), and Genetic Editing (GE). Following thematic analysis, six values Continuums were identified: practices, produce, timing, power, environment and knowledge. We argue that the System of Six Values (SYS6) tool provides an Indigenous culturally grounded lens to encourage the consideration of multiple dimensions of food to navigate tensions between extractive technological modernization and rigid adherence to tradition.