Wai? Indigenous Words and Ideas

This episode is an introduction to thinking about the social, cultural, and political significance of food. Food justice, food sovereignty, food ways, food security/insecurity, health, and more are considered. I also reflect on staple foods and ritual foods further to explore the social and cultural functions and purpose of food and life sources.

AUT doctoral candidate Lana Lopesi joins this episode, bringing a rich background in art, writing, and scholarship. We cover several topics and begin with the question; how do we hold on to the changes that once seemed impossible yet became ‘essential’ when global crises collided? We also discuss the relationships that are forged in the undercommons of the university and what that looks like in our context. Lana introduces the ‘Moana Cosmopolitan’, a concept she has coined and developed that seeks to identify current practices of being locally rooted in Oceania, yet globally mobile as digital natives. How can we better understand differences that intersect online, while holding multiple layers of connection and tension at the same time? We discuss the possibilities of moving beyond comfortable ideas by working through messy and often clumsy conversations. Seeking to remember our dynamic identities, we challenge fixed and problematic narratives of authenticity, giving room and language for an already present practice of inhabiting and belonging to many worlds.

Topics: Society, Education, Relationality, Mobility, Oceania.

Terms: Undercommons (see Moten and Harney, 2013: relationships between people are sites of learning and study, a community of intellectual refugees), Moana Cosmopolitan (locally grounded in Oceania, while being physically, intellectually, and digitally mobile), Whakapapa (Māori word for genealogy, lineage, descent, layers), Teu Le Vā (see Anae, 2016: Sāmoan relational ethics of both secular and sacred respect and reciprocity through the space in between; to nurture and/or tidy up relational space).

My sons Ezra (11) and Taine (9) join me in this episode to discuss what they have learned about stars and seasons through cosmic connections. They are students at home, of life, and in the Kura Wānanga Te Puna Waiora at Sylvia Park School. They share experiences and lessons from Māori cosmology and Matariki. We talk about the new year approaching and the role of story, reflection, and more.

Topics: Seasons, Place, Story, Indigenous Knowledge, Youth.

Terms: Matariki (Māori New Year), Tamariki (Children/Youth), Maramataka (Māori Lunar Calendar), Atua (Ancestor ‘deity’, Supernatural being), Kaitiaki (Guardian, Steward), Ranginui (Sky/Heavens, Sky Father), Papatūānuku (Land/Earth, Earth Mother), Tāne Mahuta (Atua/Kaitiaki of forest and birds), Tāwhirimatea (Atua/Kaitiaki of wind and weather), Tūmatauenga (Atua/Kaitiaki of war/conflict and people/mortality), Whānau (Community of relatives/relations).

This episode explores our current global moment including the Black Lives Matter movement, and the topic of solidarity, relationality, and transformation. How can messy solidarities recalibrate towards more meaningful relations? I reflect on how dilemmas of 'not being heard' can hinder the potential for creating better relationships. I explore alternative ways of thinking about connection and similarity that does not undermine the importance of difference. Exploring the possibilities of holding complex understandings at the same time, what is the transformational possibility of this moment? I conclude by offering a lens to understand individual, communal, and societal transformation through Mayan and Tongan concepts of Zero.

Topics: Solidarity, Relationality, Racism, Black Lives Matter, Tongan Noa and Mayan Waix (Zero). 

Terms: Racism (System of power that produces inequity across racialised constructions of groups of people, which is supported by ideas that assume behaviours or characteristics of people can be determined by arbitrary phenotypically visible differences such as skin colour, hair texture, or eye shape), Mana (potency/honour), Tapu (protections), Noa (balance/neutralization), Waix/Taj (equilibrium/zero).

Diné scholar Sandra Yellowhorse joins this episode and we begin by discussing our experiences between the U.S. and Aotearoa/New Zealand. We consider how the Covid-19 pandemic reveals ongoing social and political issues, as well as how settler colonialism impacts and amplifies disparities on the Navajo Nation. Sandra also shares insights on some of her work to challenge the harmful colonial, capitalist, and individualistic constructions of ‘disability.’ Critical and Indigenous perspectives instead offer a more inclusive view of autism as neurodiversity, which moves towards more holistic understandings of belonging and contribution in community.

Topics: Colonialism, Political Economy, Ableism, Special Education.

Terms: Diné (Diné bizaad/Navajo language word meaning “the people”), settler-colonialism (imperially supported system of domination that attempts to replace original inhabitants with an occupying society of settlers), Navajo Nation (Indigenous territory/sovereign nation that covers parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in the U.S.), Capitalism (a profit-based economic system premised on privatisation, where the means of production are controlled by an elite minority), Neurodiversity (a perspective that challenges deficit views of social, cognitive, and behavioural differences).

Diana Albarrán González joins this episode to discuss decolonial research, Indigeneity, and design. Diana has been living in Aotearoa doing research with textiles and weaving at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). We begin our discussion on the complex and complicated Indigenous identities of Mesoamerica and “Latin America” and their entanglements with race, class, and colonialism. Diana shares some of her work with Tsotsil/Tseltal (Mayan) weavers, patterns, and materials in the highlands of Chiapas. We discuss Indigenous rights and collective intellectual property and how textiles are the books that the colonial project could not burn. We conclude with an exploration of alter-native pathways beyond our current paradigm towards living a fair and dignified life.

Topics: Identity, Indigeneity, Textiles, Weaving, Global Power Dynamics, Gender. 

Terms: Mestizo/Mestizaje (Spanish colonial concept of ‘racial mixing’ between Amerindians and Europeans), Lekil Kuxlejal (Tsotsil/Tseltal concept of a balanced, fair, and dignified life), Buen Vivir (Concept of good living/living well that was inspired by the Andean concept of Sumak Kawsay of being culturally rooted, community grounded, and ecologically sustainable), Cosmovísion (ancestral eco-cosmic worldview), Neoliberalism (current economic system of deregulated capitalism, enclosure of public systems, and privatization).

In this episode 'Apo' Aporosa who is based at Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at the University of Waikato joins me to discuss kava research. After introducing kava (piper methysticum) and its spread, he explains how it is a cultural keystone species across Oceania. Yaqona (kava) is also tied to identity and cultural values. We discuss contemporary issues including some myth-busting of prevalent misconceptions of kava and its effects. We conclude this episode with Apo sharing some preliminary insights on his most recent research on kava and driving, as well as making some comments on kava quality issues. 

Topics: Kava, Identity, Diaspora, Research, Health 

Terms: Yaqona (iTaukei/Fijian word for kava), Wai ni Vanua (Ceremonial name for yaqona meaning the water of the land, culture, and people), Vakaturanga (Fijian cultural values of chiefliness, respect, and humility), Mana (Honour, potency).

In this episode, Tēvita Ka‘ili who is BYU-Hawai‘i’s Dean and Professor in the faculty of culture, language and performing arts; shares his knowledge and experience learning and constructing Indigenous theory. We discuss some of the history, background, critiques, and evolution of Tāvāism (Tongan time-space theory). Additionally, we explore contemporary applications of Tongan philosophy to understanding social and ecological rhythm, connection, and our current global moment.

Topics in this episode include philosophy, identity, anthropology, Indigeneity, tempo-spatiality, relational ethics, food and environment.

Tongan terms and concepts used in this episode include: Fatongia (sacred duty or responsibility), Mana (potency, honour), Tapu (protection, sacred), Tā (to beat or strike, rhythm, ‘time’), Vā (point between, spatial-relational connection, ‘space’), Tauhi Vaha‘a/Tauhi Vā (An art/value of nurturing relationships/relational space), Fonua (land, ancestral heritage, placenta), Kava (ancestral elixir commonly used in contemporary social gatherings, life events, and for various rituals and ceremonies in Tongan society).

This episode critically reflects on some of the social consequences of Sars-Cov-2/Covid 19 spreading across the globe. Drawing from Indigenous commentators, personal experiences, and observations what are the implications of the concept of 'social distancing'? Can we be 'socially intimate/conscious' while being physically distant instead? Also, how do crises have the potential for both social transformation as well as intensified exploitation?

The attorney Alema Leota joins me in this episode to discuss current issues in American Sāmoa. We begin with him giving an introduction to the background of the territory and then discuss the perpetuation of culture, fishing rights, land and ocean space in some of his work. We then discuss a different case regarding American Sāmoans becoming natural born citizens vs. nationals. While some are praising the decision, others are not, and we explore the complexity of the issue.