Indigenous (Māori/Pasifika) Perspectives on Building an Ecological Civilization

Abstract

This chapter opens a series of windows on the thinking of Indigenous researchers, who are all part of the Eke Tangaroa program for Māori and Pasifika early career academics at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Indigenous identities are diverse but share much in common. Every Indigenous academic is aware of the clash of worldviews, often rumbling below the surface of everyday life in the university or research setting. To identify as an Indigenous person inevitably brings ethics, and hence philosophy, into one’s scholarly work. Depending on their discipline, each academic takes up their culture as best as they can within their research and teaching. Reflecting the inherent strength of AUT’s Eke Tangaroa program for Māori and Pasifika early career academics, the combined impact of these pieces brings something new to the table of ideas for building future ecological civilizations.