This article introduces Te Kahu Huruhuru o Kohikohi, a Kaupapa Māori methodology developed to address the need for Indigenous perspectives in climate change research. Climate change policy has traditionally relied on quantitative methods, often neglecting Māori worldviews and holistic environmental understandings. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori values, knowledge and practices are often overlooked in climate planning, despite their role as kaitiaki of the land. This methodology bridges Māori ways of knowing with Western research, drawing on whakapapa and incorporating Kaupapa Māori and bricolage to create an adaptable, multiperspective approach.

Placing whānau at the centre of research design and delivery empowers whānau to take ownership of their own narrative while leveraging and extending their existing resources and knowledge systems. This article outlines the development of a kaupapa whānau research framework developed by whānau involved in a whānau-inspired initiative at their marae. Conducted in accordance with whānau principles, the research was guided by a tikanga approach to ensure that the experience was mana enhancing for all engaged.

Indigenous wisdom traditions regard knowledge as an active and creative process of coming to know. Descriptions of the emergence of knowledge are found in cosmological whakapapa narratives, which reflect and inform an Indigenous worldview. Outlined in this article is an Indigenous Māori research paradigm that is underpinned by the cosmological whakapapa and describes knowledge creation as a relationship with experience. A Māori methodological framework, Te Hihiri process, is offered as a research tool to keep researchers grounded in Indigenous wisdom, guided by ancestral knowledge and entrenched in spirit.