Something called Kauwaka Te Ipurangi – the inaugural national Māori Internet hui – has been giving our indigenous people the opportunity to grapple with information technology.
One News reports:
Fears of Māori being left out of the future development of the internet were front and centre at the inaugural national Māori Internet hui, Kauwaka te Ipurangi.
The two-day event at Te Papa in Wellington, hosted by Te Komiti Whakauru Māori, a subcommittee of InternetNZ-Ipurangi Aotearoa, invited Māori to explore how the internet is managed, the policies and processes that shape its use, and to engage in its future.
Whitiaua Ropitini, principal advisor at InternetNZ, said the conference was an opportunity for Māori to see how it was imperative to be involved.
This raises some questions:
How do non-Maori explore how the internet is managed, the policies and processes that shape its use, and how to engage in its future?
And why can’t Maori take advantage of whatever those arrangements might be?
Or is there a race barrier?
One News proceeded with a burst of te reo (74 words) followed by a translation (of just 40 words):
“The internet continues to develop and same goes with digital technology. Furthermore, indigenous knowledge is being copied online and stolen, so an important part of this conference is to urge Māori to be aware of the impact on the internet.”
Ah. The issue of keeping information secure.
It’s not something subject to a race barrier, so far as PoO is aware.
Maori and non-Maori alike must appreciate that the Internet is a PUBLIC network. If data is to be transmitted confidentially – or information is to be secured from being copied online and “stolen” – it must at least be encrypted, or made even more secure (which it can be).
Inevitably, the hui got around to discussing “digital sovereignty”.
It seems this is a form of separatism.
Hermione McCullum, chief policy advisor for Tū Ātea, a Māori spectrum and telecommunications service, talked about “Māori governance” and what that looks like from both a Māori and digital perspective.
“I wanted people to dream about what it might look like if we governed ourselves in those realms – what can it look like so we can collectively decide our own decisions, our own destiny in a digital space instead of someone else’s space.”
The opportunities are endless, she said.
Elle Archer, Te Hapori Matihiko chair, said Māori need to be “front and present” in discussions around the internet for fear of being left out and “erased from it”.
High level opportunities include owning a domain, a space to code and create algorithms so there is no bias, said Archer.
“But even more than that, zoom all the way out, what does the future of work look like for Māori? What does our economic development look like for Māori? What does the circular economy look like? So being privy and part of kōrero like this helps us achieve outcomes of a thriving economy for Māori.”
She said for that future to happen, Māori need to be part of “foundational practices and tikanga” of how the internet is run in Aotearoa, and:
“I hope that we all walk away knowing ‘this is what I’m going to do, this is what you’re going to do, this is how we’re going to roll together to achieve the outcomes that we need to for Māori’.”
The One News report suggests some progress has been made over the past decade, because it made no mention of the impediment of the Maori belief system. Or perhaps this was discussed but not mentioned in the report.
Back in 2015, the annual NetHui was held in Auckland where Māori discussed and shared their ideas about whether tikanga Māori crosses over to the internet.
A Te Au Maori news report at that time noted that an assurance was given about the internet having “mauri”.
Let’s check out what this mystical ingredient might do :
Mauri
Mauri is an energy which binds and animates all things in the physical world. Without mauri, mana cannot flow into a person or object.
The Te Au report said:
The annual NetHui was held today in Auckland where Māori discuss and share their ideas about whether tikanga Māori crosses over to the internet.
One Lincoln university philosopher says it does. Over 3 billion people are connected to the internet worldwide, but where does Māori fit into that?
Indigenous Digital Philosopher, Karaitiana Taiuru says, “We’re kanohi ki te kanohi, you know their mauri, you can touch something and get the mauri and the internet, it’s nothing, it’s te kore and it’s hard to try and quantify that. But if you use the internet for the right purposes then it will have mauri.”
To put this another way, the mauri is lost if the internet is used for the wrong purposes.
The Te Au report went on to say that research from Lincoln University showed Māori use the internet to communicate on social media and to check the news…
Just like the rest of us, surely!
… but some still have concerns.
Te Mihinga Komene says, “We are very active on the web, but there are many of us that are scared about new technology, 30 years have passed, let’s move forward eh?”
Te Tumatakuru O’Connell says, “The new technology is brilliant, to some it’s intimidating. But I believe we should embrace it.”
That year’s NetHui was about new beginnings and how the changing face of Māori was using the internet.
The latest hui – so far as PoO can tell – was doing much the same.
But one difference discerned by PoO is that Maori then were fearful about the lack of tikanga in the internet; now they fear being left out of the future development of the internet.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
The two-day event at Te Papa in Wellington, hosted by Te Komiti Whakauru Māori, a subcommittee of InternetNZ-Ipurangi Aotearoa, invited Māori to explore how the internet is managed, the policies and processes that shape its use, and to engage in its future.
Whitiaua Ropitini, principal advisor at InternetNZ, said the conference was an opportunity for Māori to see how it was imperative to be involved.
This raises some questions:
How do non-Maori explore how the internet is managed, the policies and processes that shape its use, and how to engage in its future?
And why can’t Maori take advantage of whatever those arrangements might be?
Or is there a race barrier?
One News proceeded with a burst of te reo (74 words) followed by a translation (of just 40 words):
“The internet continues to develop and same goes with digital technology. Furthermore, indigenous knowledge is being copied online and stolen, so an important part of this conference is to urge Māori to be aware of the impact on the internet.”
Ah. The issue of keeping information secure.
It’s not something subject to a race barrier, so far as PoO is aware.
Maori and non-Maori alike must appreciate that the Internet is a PUBLIC network. If data is to be transmitted confidentially – or information is to be secured from being copied online and “stolen” – it must at least be encrypted, or made even more secure (which it can be).
Inevitably, the hui got around to discussing “digital sovereignty”.
It seems this is a form of separatism.
Hermione McCullum, chief policy advisor for Tū Ātea, a Māori spectrum and telecommunications service, talked about “Māori governance” and what that looks like from both a Māori and digital perspective.
“I wanted people to dream about what it might look like if we governed ourselves in those realms – what can it look like so we can collectively decide our own decisions, our own destiny in a digital space instead of someone else’s space.”
The opportunities are endless, she said.
Elle Archer, Te Hapori Matihiko chair, said Māori need to be “front and present” in discussions around the internet for fear of being left out and “erased from it”.
High level opportunities include owning a domain, a space to code and create algorithms so there is no bias, said Archer.
“But even more than that, zoom all the way out, what does the future of work look like for Māori? What does our economic development look like for Māori? What does the circular economy look like? So being privy and part of kōrero like this helps us achieve outcomes of a thriving economy for Māori.”
She said for that future to happen, Māori need to be part of “foundational practices and tikanga” of how the internet is run in Aotearoa, and:
“I hope that we all walk away knowing ‘this is what I’m going to do, this is what you’re going to do, this is how we’re going to roll together to achieve the outcomes that we need to for Māori’.”
The One News report suggests some progress has been made over the past decade, because it made no mention of the impediment of the Maori belief system. Or perhaps this was discussed but not mentioned in the report.
Back in 2015, the annual NetHui was held in Auckland where Māori discussed and shared their ideas about whether tikanga Māori crosses over to the internet.
A Te Au Maori news report at that time noted that an assurance was given about the internet having “mauri”.
Let’s check out what this mystical ingredient might do :
Mauri
Mauri is an energy which binds and animates all things in the physical world. Without mauri, mana cannot flow into a person or object.
The Te Au report said:
The annual NetHui was held today in Auckland where Māori discuss and share their ideas about whether tikanga Māori crosses over to the internet.
One Lincoln university philosopher says it does. Over 3 billion people are connected to the internet worldwide, but where does Māori fit into that?
Indigenous Digital Philosopher, Karaitiana Taiuru says, “We’re kanohi ki te kanohi, you know their mauri, you can touch something and get the mauri and the internet, it’s nothing, it’s te kore and it’s hard to try and quantify that. But if you use the internet for the right purposes then it will have mauri.”
To put this another way, the mauri is lost if the internet is used for the wrong purposes.
The Te Au report went on to say that research from Lincoln University showed Māori use the internet to communicate on social media and to check the news…
Just like the rest of us, surely!
… but some still have concerns.
Te Mihinga Komene says, “We are very active on the web, but there are many of us that are scared about new technology, 30 years have passed, let’s move forward eh?”
Te Tumatakuru O’Connell says, “The new technology is brilliant, to some it’s intimidating. But I believe we should embrace it.”
That year’s NetHui was about new beginnings and how the changing face of Māori was using the internet.
The latest hui – so far as PoO can tell – was doing much the same.
But one difference discerned by PoO is that Maori then were fearful about the lack of tikanga in the internet; now they fear being left out of the future development of the internet.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
How much longer do we have to suffer this crap? I guess they were paid by us suckers to attend the hui. The worst part is they sound so stupid, even like they believe what they're saying. Incredibly.
I can see another Waitangi Tribunal claim coming.
Maori aren't indigenous, they arrived by canoe from another place where they possibly ?? were indigenous. It's not a good idea to entrench the Maori, non-Maori narrative. Apart from the usual suspects, Chris Luxon constantly does this. I am certainly not pro apartheid but if part-Maori must go down this track then they need to be self-funded right from the beginning, not set up by other New Zealanders and then constantly financially topped up, as we see with the ongoing treaty claims. If they fail, then they are on their own.
Where do the land, sea, lakes, rivers and mountains fit into the scheme of things? That is why the foreshore and seabed legislation needs to be amended with urgency.
Step off shore and look back at this article.
What a load of unmitigated bullocks !
Maori have a different relationship with the internet and technology to the other 8 billion people on the planet !!!!!
Stop this right now, we are being played for suckers .
When oh when will some brave politician get up on his or her hind legs and declare once and for all that Maori are the same as the rest of us? They eat, breathe, defecate and bleed when cut like the rest of us! Maori are left out of nothing and included in too bloomin' much. I dunno about the Internet having 'Mauri' but I just did my laptop backups and the SSD memory stick was hot when I finished, does this mean that it has its own MAURI ???? Conclusion, yes all this separatist stuff is bollocks! We need to roll together to achieve the outcomes that we need to for NEW ZEALAND and everyone in it equally.
Digital Sovereignty versus Digital Hubris?
The internet is a protocol, not a pa. It grants no tribe title deeds, only IP addresses.
Yet last week’s Kauwaka Te Ipurangi hui at Te Papa rang with calls for “Maori governance” of cyberspace, alarms about “erasure,” and invocations of tikanga as a founding charter.
Never mind that the web’s core code is open to anyone with a keyboard, or that encryption—available to all—solves the very “data‑theft” fears being aired.
Behind the rhetoric sits a familiar separatist instinct: if a public platform is important, carve out a bespoke jurisdiction before someone else does. Thus “digital sovereignty” is floated alongside claims for radio spectrum and freshwater.
Worse, reimagining the internet as a waka paddled by competing cultural captains risks balkanising a borderless resource.
Splitting spectrum or governance on ethnic lines would raise costs, chill investment, and leave New Zealand’s tech sector arguing over protocol tikanga while the rest of the world ships product.
Seeking mana through managerial vetoes over cyberspace is less empowerment than a detour from the grind of doing the mahi of capability‑building.
Hubris, some say, is “acting as if we can achieve benefits without costs.”
The previously unknown concept of digital sovereignty promises cultural control without explaining how packets will route or who pays when they don’t.
Never mind the free internet is an open field where the are no cultural firewalls.
The spoutings at the hui just smacks of woke liberal academia spreading more idle mystical nonsense from their podiums of ‘truth’ from a parallel dimension of chaos.
If it smells and walks like more cultural grift, it definitely is.
Why oh why are Māori referred to as indigenous? Even Māori myth espouses the journey by canoe from islands unnamed. That generations of NZ born citizens are given the title of Tangata Tiriti is arrogant in the extreme and totally offensive!
Over 3 billion people are connected to the internet worldwide, but where does Māori fit into that?
They fit into that exactly where Mongols, Swedes and Greeks do.
This sounds more like a Monty Python sketch. How can someone spout such gibberish with a straight face? Refund every single one of these institutions. That should balance the budget quickly.
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