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Welcome to the New Zealand IQP!

In New Zealand and elsewhere, research has been used to further the harmful effects of colonization. While being aware of this legacy, present-day researchers often unwittingly reproduce similar asymmetrical and exploitative relationships. This project started with this observation and aimed to explore alternative ways in which student researchers here at WPI can establish fair and just practices of research. Based on research on the history of settler colonialism in New Zealand and the Western scholarship on the Māori people, as well as through interviews with Māori and indigenous studies scholars in New Zealand, Māori sponsors, WPI students, and WPI advisors, we created this resource to inform and guide future undergraduate research projects at WPI.

We do not anticipate or intend for this website to be a definitive list or explicit outline of how to interact with all Māori and/or Indigenous people, but rather to give student researchers a better understanding of best practices and what’s expected from them.

ASPIRATIONS

AREAS TO FOCUS ON
Areas students should focus on more to improve the quality of their projects

CULTURE & HISTORY
Students have an understanding of Māori history and culture to incorporate in their project
LANGUAGE
Students are actively learning basic Māori words and using them where appropriate
REFLECTION
Participants of the IQP should engage in active reflection throughout the entire IQP process

KEYWORDS
Keywords that students should discuss and think about during their projects

ETHICAL LISTENING
Students are seeking out diverse views and actively listening to participants’ stories and needs
DISCOMFORT
Students are recognizing the discomforts they feel and identifying learning opportunities
ACCOUNTABILITY
Students consider how their projects affect a community and work to make a positive impact

RESOURCES

Each page has resources specific to the topic of that page. We have included a variety of formats to appeal to different learning styles, including text, video, and audio.

To view all the resources we’ve gathered, click below.

View All Resources

THIS WEBSITE

This information on this website was gathered during an IQP that focused on power, responsibility, and justice in research partnerships with Māori communities.

To learn more about this specific IQP project, click below.

About Us

WPI Global Studies Lab Website on Working with Indigenous Communities

The Global Studies Lab has produced a website about working with Indigenous studies that provides a good starting point to learn about working with Indigenous communities. We encourage you to look at this website to gain more broad insights relating to this topic.

Working with Indigenous Communities Website