Māori communities such as hapū, marae, taurahere, urban Māori and Māori organisation have always enacted sovereignty over their taonga, and in the digital age it has been no different.
This podcast discusses the technical and grass roots level of Māori sovereignty that Māori refer to as “Tino Rangatiratanga” and “Mana Motuhake”. Terms enshrined in our post colonial history that have recently been ignored in favour of the term “mana”. Mana literally means respect and has been used by academia and the Crown as a word for sovereignty, despite it not being a term used in Te Tiriti.
I interview the following technical and Māori community leaders about Māori Data Sovereignty for marae, hapū and other non-Iwi collectives as one of a number in a series of conversations:
Craig Hampson – TEAM IM NZ director whose company is a New Zealand hyperscale sovereign cloud service, owned and operated by TEAM IM, with Ngāti Toa as a shareholder.
Lee Timutimu (Ngāti Awa, Ngai Te Rangi, Tūhoe, Ngāti Poro) a 2024 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Semi-Finalist, which recognised his work as an advocate and leader in the Māori digitech. community.
Amber Craig ( Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Muaūpoko, Ngai Tara) a pioneering Māori technologist, strategist and kaupapa Māori innovator.
Key themes from this discussion were:
- Rapid technological advancement over the past decade requires deeper understanding from Māori communities
- Māori sovereignty represents a significant commercial consideration that corporates and government continue to overlook
- The Cloud Act poses minimal real concerns for Māori data sovereignty
- Cost considerations outweigh local hosting requirements for Māori and Iwi organizations
- Mana Motuhake takes precedence over all other considerations regarding data governance
- Marae require additional support and education to navigate technological challenges
Listen to the interview below or pop over to YouTube to watch the video.