This presentation critically explores the contested waters of Indigenous knowledge integration within contemporary educational frameworks. Using Māori knowledge systems (mātauranga Māori) in Aotearoa New Zealand as a critical case study, this research demonstrates that current educational institutions cannot accommodate authentic expressions of Indigenous knowledge without fundamentally transforming their existing power structures. These issues resonate across Indigenous contexts, including ongoing struggles for Native Hawaiian educational sovereignty and the revitalisation of Indigenous ontologies, epistemologies, and pedagogies throughout Te Moana nui ā Kiwa. Drawing from decolonial and Kaupapa Māori methodologies, this analysis investigates the gap between policy rhetoric about cultural responsiveness and the lived realities of Indigenous knowledge holders navigating colonial education systems. The research reveals how educational institutions fragment and commodify traditional understandings, transforming holistic worldviews into discrete curriculum components subjected to Western validation processes that undermine their epistemological foundations and spiritual dimensions. Case studies from recent educational reforms demonstrate how seemingly progressive initiatives often reinforce colonial hierarchies by determining which aspects of Indigenous knowledge are deemed "suitable" for institutional adoption. This gatekeeping process reflects deeper structural issues about who holds authority to define legitimate knowledge and educational practice, revealing persistent patterns where power remains concentrated within colonial institutional frameworks. This presentation argues that meaningful transformation requires recognising the fundamental incompatibility between Indigenous knowledge systems and colonial institutional structures. Rather than seeking accommodation within existing colonial frameworks, genuine social justice and political transformation demand creating new educational spaces that honours Indigenous educational sovereignty and pedagogical autonomy.

Authors:
Kari Moana Te Rongopatahi, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

About the Presenter(s)
Kari Moana Te Rongopatahi is currently a senior lecturer in Māori education at the University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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