Toitū te Tiriti: A Tiriti o Waitangi-led Approach to Public Health Curriculum Development.

Abstract

At Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University), Aotearoa New Zealand, we have declared our stance as a Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led institution. This necessitates the embodiment and enactment of the principles and provisions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the embedding of Indigenous Māori knowledge, values and belief systems in curriculum design and implementation. This article outlines the beginning of our journey toward indigenizing our postgraduate public health curriculum at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa. We describe the redevelopment of the Master of Public Health curriculum that embeds mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), te reo Māori (Māori language), tikanga Māori (Māori values and belief systems), and Māori pedagogy (culturally sustaining teaching and learning practices). Here, we focus on how curriculum redevelopment and pedagogy have enabled the utility of Māori knowledge and processes to be reflected at every level of the program and give life and relevancy to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Tiriti o Waitangi guides our teaching practice and ensures that students can safely develop their confidence in Māori ways of knowing, being, and doing to effectively partner with Māori as Tangata Whenua. Our program aims to produce agentic graduates who are champions and advocates for Māori aspirations in health.