Te Hoe Nuku Roa: A journey towards Maori centered research

Abstract

Maori people have a unique body of knowledge that, while based on ancestral  traditions, has adapted  to meet con-temporary  challenges. While Maori  knowledge  is widely applied in Maori communities it is now increasingly being used in mainstream domains.This  paper will  focus  on  a  project  known  as  Best Out-comes For Māori: Te Hoe Nuku Roa Maori Profiles, a longitudinal Maori household project with a focus on Maori development in cultural, social and economic terms. This project  is  based  on  a  cultural  framework  that  has  been formulated from ‘traditional’ principles. It provides a model for  the  interaction  between Maori  knowledge  and main-stream  social  science  practices  and  demonstrates  how Maori knowledge and the Western scientific tradition can be used together to resolve critical failings in previous re-search and advance the aspirations of Maori people. It is just one example of how traditional principles are demon-strating their continuing value in contemporary Maori de-velopment.  “The challenge  today  is  to survive as Māori, to  retain a Maori  identity, while still being able  to partici-pate fully in society and in the communities of the world.”   (Durie 1997)