Māori Research Collaborations,<i>Mātauranga</i>Māori Science and the Appropriation of Water in New Zealand

Abstract

This article is an exploratory piece which introduces an argument that a new Māori-science discourse for freshwater has emerged in New Zealand. At the heart of the discourse is the Māori word mātauranga. Drawing on my attendance at a recent Māori water symposium, this work will track the shifting power relationships and fluid boundaries of groups of people with interests in science and claims to freshwater resources. With a focus on the words and language used by Ngai Tahu tribal leaders and natural scientists attending the symposium, this work asks what role the politics of language and discourse plays in transforming identities, power relations and sociopolitical hierarchies. A major focus of this article is the shifting relationships between identity, knowledge and power. Its thesis is that subtle shifts in discourse reflect wider social and symbolic struggles.