Dr Marama Muru-Lanning’s presentation on “Vision Matauranga, Eclectic Anthropology and the Fading Empire” was particularly interesting because of its focus on unique Maori ethics. Dr Muru-Lanning discussed how, when undertaking her PhD, she had to complete an independent ethics process with her own iwi. This involved traveling the length of the Waikato river and asking people at each point whether it was acceptable for her to study the river. Interestingly, this involved seeking permission not only from living people, but also from the Taniwha inside the river and from the river itself.
Dr Muru-Lanning’s discussion prompted me to reflect on ethics, and about how Maori notions of ethics differ greatly from Western perceptions of it. It is my understanding that approval by an ethics committee at the University of Auckland is only required when research involves human participants. This contrast between Maori ethics – which are predicated on the notion that all living things are infused with spiritual energy – and Western ethics (which are arguably anthropocentric) is interesting to consider. This was not a distinction that I had previously considered, perhaps because Western interpretations of ethics are often presented – at least implicitly – as being universal.
I was also struck by Dr Muru-Lanning’s discussion of how some iwi tended to view university as a space that reinforced Maori experiences of colonial trauma. Interestingly, there is research to suggest that high rates of Maori incarceration may be attributed to colonial trauma – and that elements of modern life continue to reproduce bias against Maori.
