Whakapapa as a Te Ao Māori-centred Economic Episto-methodology
Date
Authors
McLellan, Georgia
Sharp, Emma
Dell, Kiri
Lewis, Nicolas
Reid, John
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga
Abstract
Māori economies have unique foundations, which differ fundamentally from Eurocentric economies, making it difficult to identify appropriate epistemological and methodological approaches to understanding them. Critical Māori economies scholars emphasise the importance of whakapapa-based approaches to understanding Māori economies. In this article, whakapapa is conceptualised as a way of both knowing (epistemology) and coming to know (methodology) Māori economies. It introduces a whakapapa-based episto-methodological framework based on four key tenets—dimensionality, relationality, obligations, and multi-temporality—to understand Māori economies from a te ao Māori perspective. The article then outlines how the use of this whakapapa-based framework can lead to decolonised economic possibilities and add value to Māori livelihoods by enabling inclusive economic decision-making, re-establishing unseen economic dimensions and recognising relations as central to Māori economies.Description
Keywords
1608 Sociology, 1699 Other Studies in Human Society, 45 Indigenous studies, Māori economies, whakapapa, epistemology, methodology, decolonisation
Source
MAI Journal, Volume 15, Issue 1, 2026. ISSN: 2230-6862 (Print); 2230-6862 (Online). doi: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2026.15.1.1
Publisher's version
Rights statement
MAI Journal is an open access journal that publishes multidisciplinary peer-reviewed articles around Indigenous knowledge and development in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.