Mō Tātou, Ā, Mō Kā Uri Ā Muri Ake Nei: Visioning Mokopuna Futures Through Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

In Murihiku Southland in Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori are already responding and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Drawing on twenty interviews with Māori leaders, environmental practitioners, and knowledge holders, this kaupapa Māori (Māori-led) study examines perspectives on adapting to climate disruption. Interviewees identified a range of whakapapa (ancestry)-based adaptation strategies rooted in intergenerational care, cultural continuity, and relational governance. Guided by Te Kahu Huruhuru o Kohikohi methodology (Kaiser et al., 2025) and Callon’s (1998) framing theory, the research analyses how participants contest deficit-based externalities of climate disruption, such as land dispossession, environmental degradation and reframe adaptation through four interconnected strands - whakapapa-based adaptive infrastructure, kaitiakitaka, ahi kā and utu; kotahitaka and strategic relationships; and visioning mokopuna futures. These responses transform externalities such as cultural erasure, land dispossession, and youth exclusion into overflows: creative, relational practices that exceed the boundaries of formal climate planning. Findings show that Murihiku whānau are restoring whenua, revitalising mahika kai, and embedding intergenerational knowledge in governance. Adaptation is framed not as a technical fix but as a relational obligation, enacted through kaitiakitaka, cultural resurgence, and mokopuna-centred planning. Participants emphasised the importance of imagination, storytelling, and strategic leadership in preparing future generations to navigate climate change. This study contributes to Indigenous climate change scholarship by demonstrating how Māori-led adaptation strategies challenge technocratic framings and offer culturally grounded alternatives. It calls for planning frameworks that honour whakapapa, support mātauraka Māori, and uphold mana whenua governance.