Decolonizing the Colonizer: Indigenous Education as the Foundation for Mainstream Teacher Education in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Despite decades of advancement in Indigenous education, mainstream aʻo/ako (teaching and learning) in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) remains predominantly shaped by Western, Eurocentric, settler colonial paradigms. Within this context, Indigenous education is frequently treated as a “side dish” primarily for Indigenous students or as a token gesture, rather than serving as the kahua/kaupapa (foundation) for all learners. This research study provides guidance on how to accelerate the decolonization and indigenization of mainstream teacher education programs (TEPs) to intentionally ground in Indigenous knowledge systems and practices. The research also further clarifies the role of non-Indigenous kumu/kaiako (educators) in supporting Indigenous resurgence efforts, offering context, content, and strategies for us to serve as transformational allies.

Grounded in an Indigenous Research Paradigm, this study weaves together Indigenous and Critical Western theories reflective of the context of the study and the positionality of the researcher – Kaupapa Māori (Māori philosophical approach), Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) epistemologies, Critical Pedagogy, Settler Colonial Studies, and Liberation Psychology. The theoretical underpinnings are anchored in moʻokūʻauhau/whakapapa, frameworks that emphasize the interconnectedness of people, place, and the natural and supernatural worlds tracing genealogical relationships and situating individuals and experiences within a broader cosmological, historical, and relational context. The Indigenous Empowerment Theory (IET) developed by Keaomālamalama (Kawaiʻaeʻa et al., 2018) guides the literature review and provides a framework for the historical analysis of education systems in Hawaiʻi and Aotearoa with a focus on colonization, decolonization, indigenization, and allyship.

Drawing on decolonizing and qualitative methods of oral storytelling and semi-structured interviews, the study gathered moʻolelo/pūrākau (stories, narratives), ʻike/mātauranga (knowledge, wisdom), and manaʻo/whakaaro (thoughts, opinions) from 22 Hawaiian and Māori Indigenous education leaders. The research focused on two key questions: 1. What are future visions for mainstream TEPs grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems? 2. What roles can non-Indigenous kumu/kaiako take to support Indigenous resurgence?

The interviews were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological and Thematic Analysis approaches. The richness of the interview introductions warranted a dedicated chapter of first-hand moʻolelo/pūrākau, enhancing the literature review and centering Indigenous voices. A central metaphor emerged from the analysis: the three-whiri wahakura, a harakeke flax bassinet woven with three foundational braids. This metaphor offers key insights into Indigenous knowledge constructs and serves multiple roles as the methodological framework, the organizational structure of the thesis, and a symbolic representation of the study’s findings, encapsulated in the Wahakura Framework to Decolonize and Indigenize Education. The framework emphasizes that to transform, heal, and rebuild mainstream education – to decolonize and indigenize – we must work at the individual, programmatic, and systemic levels. The study also proposes a transformational allyship model that involves deprogramming and reprogramming Western cultural constructs. This model creates opportunities for genuine partnership with Indigenous peoples in shaping an “Indigeneity of the future” (Royal, 2011).