Kaupapa Kōrero: a Māori cultural approach to narrative inquiry

Abstract

In Indigenous culture, stories are a common repository of knowledge and facilitate the process of knowing. Māori academics (Indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand) have developed approaches based on key principles of Māori research, oral traditions and narrative inquiry to express experiences as Māori. To extend this, a Māori approach called Kaupapa Kōrero was developed to gather, present and understand Māori experiences. The application of whakapapa (genealogy) as a relational analytical framework provided a way of identifying personal kōrero (stories) and integrating them within layers of interrelated kōrero about their whānau (family), te ao Māori (Māori culture) and society that influences contemporary experiences of being Māori. Whakapapa also enabled a cross-examination of kōrero and identification of common intersecting factors such as Māori ethnicity, age, parenting status and socioeconomic position. This Māori narrative approach revealed a more complex and nuanced understanding of the interrelatedness and influence of societal expectations, indigeneity, Māori culture and whānau.

Indigenous nurses’ practice realities of cultural safety and socioethical nursing

“…20,21 Narrative inquiry research explores the ways people story their experiences, and when aligned with indigenous epistemologies exposes indigenous realities about self-determination, colonisation and the relationship between past and present. 20,22 The narratives provide insight into Māori nurses' holistic indigenous world view and contextualise their professional practice experiences. Indigenous consultation occurred throughout all steps of the research process, in alignment with Māori research principles.…”

Wānanga as a research methodology

“…Recent scholarship has re-emphasised the importance of whakapapa as a framework for narrative and kōrero (storytelling). Ware et al (2017), for instance, have argued that a “whakapapa framework structures kōrero in terms of identifying layers of relationships” (p. 50). Because the overarching research project in Ngāti Tīpa focused on the reconstitution of whakapapa, the wānanga provided opportunities for whānau to story their connections to each other and the demographic data found by the research team.…”

He korowai o Matainaka / The cloak of Matainaka: Traditional ecological knowledge in climate change adaptation – Te Wai Pounamu, New Zealand

“…The relationships and accompanying stories that Kāti Huirapa have built up over time with the Matainaka catchment, non-Māori community, and science institutions has been invaluable in developing understanding of the contemporary environment. Ware et al (2018) termed this as kaupapa kōrero, which allows for both Māori and non-Māori stories to be integrated into the layers of relationships within specific whakapapa systems. This ensures that the way stories are presented "aligns with Māori cultural preferences" (Ware et al 2018), which integrates non-Māori knowledge into a whakapapa system privileging Māori voices, knowledge, relationships, and experiences with the eco-systems.…”

“…Ware et al (2018) termed this as kaupapa kōrero, which allows for both Māori and non-Māori stories to be integrated into the layers of relationships within specific whakapapa systems. This ensures that the way stories are presented "aligns with Māori cultural preferences" (Ware et al 2018), which integrates non-Māori knowledge into a whakapapa system privileging Māori voices, knowledge, relationships, and experiences with the eco-systems. Within the Matainaka catchment it allows the Kāti Huirapa voice to be prioritised over others and retain the cultural integrity needed.…”

“…Within the Matainaka catchment it allows the Kāti Huirapa voice to be prioritised over others and retain the cultural integrity needed. The combined narratives (written and oral) can, "make visible the consequences and actions and events over time" (Ware et al 2018), as they apply to the past, present and future management of the wider resource catchment area.…”