In this article, four taiohi Māori of Te Tai Tokerau provide critical insights into their experiences of racism and their perspectives of school, teaching and education systems in Aotearoa New Zealand. Participants in this project all positively identified as Māori but have very different ways of conceptualising that identity. Western schooling in Aotearoa has, since its introduction, been a site of cultural contestation. Schools are also highly visible locations where Indigenous and Western epistemological differences play out with real-life impacts and consequences.

Traditional knowledges are not homogeneous or tidy; they often contain hidden meanings and tensions. In some cases, they are contradictory and therefore understanding them requires careful analytical and critical thought. The marginalisation and exclusion of Indigenous knowledges in contemporary contexts has perhaps been (falsely) justified because they do not easily translate into non-Indigenous ways of knowing. The purpose of this article is to critically examine traditional Māori knowledge and epistemology in relation to modern challenges and meaning-making. Indigenous conceptual frameworks allow for Indigenous interpretation of our experiences on our own terms.

The overarching policy strategy for Māori education is contained in the document Ka Hikitia— Accelerating Success 2013–2017: The Māori Education Strategy (preceded by Ka Hikitia—Managing for Success 2008–2012), out of which fall some specific Māori education resources. One of these is Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners. The Tātaiako framework purports to define behaviours and skills that reflect a teacher’s Māori cultural competence to ensure the success of Māori students, as Māori. These competencies are identified as five traditional Māori values and concepts: ako, manaakitanga, tangata whenuatanga, wānanga and whanaungatanga.