A primary task for refugee families and children who are resettling in a new country is to develop a sense of belonging in that place, time and context. This article theorises the "powhiri," the traditional Maori ceremony of welcome or ritual of encounter, as a metaphor for refugee families and children coming to belong in Aotearoa New…

Wellbeing is fundamental to an individual's ability to function and live well. Maori have some of the worst wellbeing statistics in New Zealand (Chalmers & Williams, 2018). From a te ao Maori perspective mana (power, authority) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) encapsulate the critical relationships inherent in Maori understandings of…

Tuakana/teina is an important feature of a traditional Polynesian kinship model. Historically it referred to a pairing of older and younger male siblings and cousins, and older and younger female siblings and cousins. In contemporary early childhood education (ECE) contexts, tuakana/teina describes the practice of older, more expert children…

Before the arrival of Europeans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and their subsequent settlement in the 1800s, there was no concept of a Maori identity. Over time, however, as a result of rapid colonisation, Maori became a minority population in New Zealand. Consequently, the term Maori as normal or usual, began to lose its meaning (Webber, 2008), and…

Belonging and being are inextricably linked. From a Maori perspective, belonging and being can be viewed through a number of interconnected historical and contemporary frames. One frame is derived from Maori perceptions of the creation of the universe and genealogical relationships to the universe and everything in it. Another frame of belonging…

Despite making major advances in educational provision, Maori and Pasifika children continue to lag behind other groups, in New Zealand, achieving disproportionately lower results on national averages. Key to educational success for Maori and Pasifika children is the acknowledgement that they are culturally located and the recognition that…

This article reflects on issues of Indigenous creativity in Maori arts education, along with what we see as problematic tensions of the assessment of intangible elements. Our writing is motivated by a desire to start a global dialogue on Indigenous/Maori epistemologies, pedagogies and ontologies, and the contradictions and tensions that threaten…

This "whakatauki" or "proverb" speaks to Maori perspectives of time, where the past, the present and the future are viewed as intertwined, and life as a continuous cosmic process. Within this continuous cosmic movement, time has no restrictions--it is both past and present. The past is central to and shapes both present and…