"Kaitiakitanga"
Exploring the term's meaning and use in contemporary Aotearoa
What is 'Kaitiakitanga'?
"He tāonga kē te taiao." The natural environment is a treasure. Image Credit: Centre for Indigenous Psychologies
Kaitiakitanga is an Indigenous Māori term that denotes the concept of care.
It stems from the word tiaki, meaning "to care for, guard, protect, to keep watch over and shelter".
Kai is a prefix that when applied to tiaki means "caretaker, guardian, conservator, or trustee”.
Kaitiakitanga literally means the circumstance of watching or guarding, and refers to preservation, fostering, protecting and sheltering.
The use of the term kaitiakitanga has become increasingly common in environmental research, policy and legislation in Aotearoa.
It's increased use in environmental policy has drawn attention to the inherent spiritual connection and responsibilities tangata whenua (Indigenous Māori) have to the natural environment and the need to provide for this connection.
The Resource Management Act (1991) was the first piece of legislation in Aotearoa to recognise the term kaitiakitanga in reference to Māori rights and obligations to protect and care for the natural environment.
However, the term kaitiakitanga is increasingly used in isolation from the ontology that informs it, resulting in misinterpreted and misinformed understandings of the term.
This has implications for Māori, including the spiritual significance of kaitiakitanga being overlooked, and the potential development of misinformed policy that continues to present barriers for Māori in fulfilling their roles as kaitiaki.
Basic definitions of kaitiakitanga currently used in policy (such as guardianship or stewardship) do not entirely acknowledge the nuances and complexities inherent to the term.
Considerations of kaitiakitanga in policy must allow for localised understandings, as opposed to top-down policy directives of how the term should be used.
The specific term kaitiakitanga is also not necessarily recognised by all iwi and hapū as reflecting the same meaning. Therefore, localised understandings of how to best care for the land are important to consider.
Play the YouTube videos below to hear about what kaitiakitanga means to different people.
Te Wiki ō Te Reo Māori - What does kaitiakitanga mean to you? (Credit: Manaaki Kaimai Mamaku Trust)
In this video, Tuihana Pook, Hine Waitere, and Tihirangi Brightwell explore Kaitiakitanga. (Credit: Ministry of Education, NZ)
While understandings and definitions of kaitiakitanga are diverse, kaitiakitanga is largely underpinned by:
Spiritual, emotional, and reciprocal relationships exist with te taiao Image Credit: Centre for Indigenous Psychologies
- a deep, reciprocal, spiritual relationship between people and te taiao (the natural environment).
- Our responsibilities and obligations as descendants of the environment to manage our relationships with the natural environment.
- Managing those relationships in past, present and future and maintaining an intergenerational balance between the needs of humans, and the needs of the earth, air and waters that we whakapapa to.
Mātauranga Māori (Māori Knowledges)
Kaitiakitanga is underpinned by mātauranga Māori; Indigenous Māori knowledges and practices that are grounded specifically in Māori worldviews.
For Māori, the human realm, the physical realm, and the spiritual realm are inherently interconnected with each other through whakapapa.
The concept of whakapapa is fundamental in understanding Māori cosmology and ontology and can be understood as the organising principle of the world.
Whakapapa, a notion of shared common ancestry that extends back to the creation of the universe, recognises that everything is interconnected.
Through whakapapa, people have an inherent emotional and spiritual connection and responsibility to the natural environment from which they descend.
Through whakapapa, the natural environment is not just a resource to be exploited by people, but is considered as kin or relatives.
As kin, we have responsibilities to care for the land, waters and winds from which we descend.
Whakapapa, along with other values and beliefs, are embedded into pūrākau (Māori creation narratives), which form the basis upon which the holistic Māori world view is based.
Māori world views and perspectives are not homogenous.
As descendants of te taiao, we have obligations to protect it. Image Credit: Centre for Indigenous Psychologies
While Māori cosmological understandings differ slightly between iwi (tribal groupings), they generally understand existence as emerging through the actions of various atua (ancestral deities) who bestowed upon humanity the role of guardians of the earth.
Value of Mātauranga Māori Approaches
Māori have accumulated generations of intuitive and experiential knowledge around caring for the land.
This knowledge and associated practices have been transmitted orally through successive generations, forming an integral part of the wider holistic understanding of the world.
Mātauranga Māori informs unique and innovative practices to best care for the land.
Kaitiakitanga practices have been tested and developed over generations by mana whenua (local tribal authority) , and take into account both the physical and spiritual wellbeing of the environment.
Closely observing patterns in local environmental features and conditions over successive generations has enabled mana whenua to develop intricate knowledge and care practices specific to their own environments.
Watch the YouTube videos below to hear examples of the value of drawing on mātauranga Māori when caring for the environment.
Indigenous Knowledge Has Value | Curtis Bristowe | (Credit: TEDxRuakura)
The fight to save kauri with mātauranga Māori. (Credit: Re: News).
Kaitiakitanga & Rangatiratanga
Despite the expertise of mana whenua to protect the mauri of the land they care for, key barriers to kaitiakitanga for mana whenua remain, concerning issues of sovereignty and the possession of and ability to exercise customary proprietary rights.
Despite the introduction of legal mechanisms intending to facilitate the use of mātauranga Māori and local knowledge in resource management and to better acknowledge mana whenua rights through kaitiakitanga, the continued legislation of cultural practices continues to undermine local knowledge and authority.
Contemporary understandings of kaitiakitanga are now closely linked to the principle of rangatiratanga (self-determination), and the importance of tangata whenua having both their spiritual authority over their land recognised, as well as the power to act on their responsibilities as kaitiaki.
Watch the below YouTube videos describing various struggles for Māori to retain rangatiratanga over their ancestral lands, and the importance of environmental conservation efforts to be guided by Māori knowledge and uphold obligations to Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
Ihumātao: Recognising Indigenous heritage | Pania Newton | TEDxAuckland
In this YouTube video, Pania Newton describes the cultural, spiritual, archaeological and historical significance of Ihumātao, and the fight to protect it from private development.
Ihumaatao kaitiaki
This video shows footage of protestors uniting to protect the land at Ihumātao as a form of kaitiakitanga, depicting its significance for Māori.
A tika approach to climate responses with Associate Professor Maria Bargh
In this video, Associate Professor Maria Bargh (Te Kawa a Māui) discusses the importance of being tika in our processes to combat climate change and the solutions Indigenous knowledge and perspectives can offer.
Research suggests it is not just integrating local knowledge into planning and decision-making that should happen. Rather, it should be integrating mana whenua as local knowledge holders into planning and decision-making so that they may articulate their knowledge in their own terms, thus maintaining rangatiratanga.
In order for policy to meet Māori aspirations and co-management and co-governance needs, it is essential that the relevant Māori communities are involved in the co-development of decision-making frameworks, producing data, assessing and analysing information within the appropriate cultural contexts.
Future use of the term must allow for localised understandings of kaitiakitanga to be expressed through the term. The involvement of mana whenua as local knowledge holders in key decision-making processes is necessary to ensure that considerations of kaitiakitanga and mana whenua are meaningful and respectful.
