This article identifies the entrepreneurial mindset as a resolve to engage in exploration and action in order to address an issue or accomplish a goal. Entrepreneurial mindset, in the context of navigation, espouses an expectation of resilience, analysis, adjustment, application and development in all areas of intention. For thousands of years, Polynesian navigators negotiated the unpredictable and unknown Pacific islands, waters, winds and rains to voyage the breadth of the Pacific Ocean.

This article examines the use of kaupapa Māori and Pan-Pacific research methodologies within Aotearoa New Zealand and considers the tensions in navigating both of these methodologies simultaneously. The paper suggests that the “Give Way Rule” can be used in order to address some of these tensions and to ensure that research is carried out in a way that is respectful and culturally sensitive.