Bundle A – MA Māori & Indigenous Studies: Ceremony as Research Paradigm

Working title 1
Research Is Ceremony in the Digital Tide Pools: Kaupapa Māori and Relational Accountability for AI Story‑Systems in Coastal Communities

Abstract (approx. 200–250 words)
This thesis develops an Indigenous research methodology for AI‑mediated storytelling grounded in Kaupapa Māori and Shawn Wilson’s “research is ceremony” paradigm. Taking the narrative of “Earning Relational Accountability: A Knowledge Steward’s Journey” as a pedagogical spine, the project treats Sienna’s five‑year learning arc as a teaching story for mapping temporal, spatial and relational obligations in digital knowledge work. The research asks: how can digital infrastructures for language, narrative and environmental knowledge be designed so that they enact, rather than erode, relational accountability to people, place, and ceremony?[1][2][3]

Methodologically, the thesis combines Kaupapa Māori research principles (whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, aroha ki te tangata, kia tūpato, mā te Māori) with Wilson’s concepts of relational accountability, ceremony, and answerability to “all my relations”. It analyses existing Indigenous research methods papers at Waikato (e.g. MAORI570 Te Mahi Rangahau) and wider literature on whakapapa methodology and Indigenous transdisciplinarity to articulate a framework for temporal access, refusal, reciprocity and intergenerational transmission within digital systems.[2][3][4][5][1]

Using Sienna’s story as an iterative narrative autoethnography, the thesis proposes a set of protocol‑level design principles: knowledge as seasonal and place‑based; refusal as care; community‑held authority over data; ceremony as method for technical decision‑making; and intergenerational stewardship as the measure of research success. These principles are mapped against potential AI and archive architectures, offering criteria by which Indigenous communities and research institutions can evaluate whether proposed digital systems genuinely enact Kaupapa Māori and relational accountability, or merely simulate ethical language.[3][4][1]

Bundle B – MMCT (Māori Media & Communication / Creative Technologies): Practice-Led Ceremonial Systems

Working title 2
From Archive to Longhouse Cloud: Designing Ceremony‑Aware AI Storytellers for Indigenous Language Stewardship

Abstract (approx. 200–250 words)
Situated within the Master of Media and Creative Technologies, this creative research project designs and prototypes an AI‑mediated storytelling environment that behaves as a ceremony‑aware participant rather than a neutral tool. Drawing on the narrative of Sienna’s apprenticeship as a digital steward—learning seasonality, reciprocity, refusal, community authority, and intergenerational stewardship—the project asks: what would it mean for an AI system to “know” that knowledge is temporal, place‑based, and relationally governed?[6][7][3]

The project uses practice‑led research to develop a small suite of audio‑visual works and interactive prototypes: for example, an AI storyteller that enforces seasonal access to recordings; an interface that requires ceremonial acknowledgements before revealing certain narrative layers; and a refusal engine that can say “no” on behalf of the community when requests conflict with protocols. Kaupapa Māori principles and Wilson’s “research is ceremony” paradigm are explicitly encoded as design constraints: access governed by elders, relational logging instead of abstract analytics, and sunset clauses that force periodic community re‑consent for data use.[7][8][1][3]

The exegesis analyses how creative decisions negotiate tensions between technical possibility, industry AI logics, and Indigenous relational ethics, using Sienna’s story as a recurring reflective mirror. It argues that media/AI systems can be designed as co‑stewards that embody refusal, reciprocity and accountability, offering a model for future Indigenous‑led creative technologies curricula and industry collaborations.[9][3][6][7]

Bundle C – MA Māori & Indigenous Studies + MMCT (sequenced or parallel): Governance and Design of Relational Infrastructures

Working title 3
Guardians at the Interface: Governance, Refusal and Design in Indigenous‑Led AI Story Stewardship

Abstract (approx. 250–300 words)
This bundle links an MA in Māori & Indigenous Studies with an MMCT project to theorise and materialise governance structures for Indigenous‑controlled AI and media infrastructures. Using “Earning Relational Accountability: A Knowledge Steward’s Journey” as a continuous narrative case, the research focuses on the moments of refusal, funding negotiation, data governance and intergenerational training that mark Sienna’s progression from outsider technician to named steward.[1][3][7]

The MA component develops a Kaupapa Māori governance framework for AI‑related research and media projects, grounded in MAORI570 (Te Mahi Rangahau) and related Indigenous research methods papers. It synthesises literature on whakapapa methodology, Indigenous environmental governance, and Wilson’s articulation of relational accountability to propose concrete mechanisms: community‑controlled ethics committees, layered consent protocols, stewardship succession planning, and criteria for declining extractive funding or AI data deals.[4][5][10][3][1]

In parallel or subsequently, the MMCT component builds a set of media prototypes and design documents that operationalise this governance frame: e.g. interface patterns for collective decision‑making around access; visualisations that show relationships rather than “anonymised data”; and narrative prompts that make refusal intelligible to outside institutions. The project experiments with turning governance principles into user journeys, permissions architectures, and story‑based onboarding for new stewards, echoing Sienna’s training of younger community members.[8][3][7]

Together, the written thesis and creative portfolio argue for “guardians at the interface” as a new kind of role: knowledge stewards who can translate between Indigenous governance, AI/media design, and institutional demands without sacrificing community sovereignty. Sienna’s story functions as an internal teaching text, modelling how one earns relational accountability over time and how that accountability must be encoded in both policy and code.[3][7][9][1]

Sources [1] Māori and Indigenous Studies https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/qualifications/master-of-arts/maori-and-indigenous-studies [2] Dr. Shawn Wilson https://drshawnwilson.com [3] Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/research-is-ceremony-shawn-wilson [4] Applying whakapapa research methodology in Māori kin communities in Aotearoa New Zealand https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1177083X.2023.2227232?needAccess=true&role=button [5] Towards an Indigenous Transdisciplinarity https://www.atlas-tjes.org/index.php/tjes/article/download/97/92 [6] The University of Waikato Master of Media and Creative Technologies https://www.masterstudies.ng/institutions/universityofwaikato/master-of-media-and-creative-technologies [7] Master of Media and Creative Technologies https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/qualifications/master-of-media-and-creative-technologies [8] Master of Media and Creative Technologies https://www.studywithnewzealand.govt.nz/en/study-options/course/21577-course [9] Book Review: Research is Ceremony https://astrobites.org/2024/11/29/template-post-35/ [10] Māori and Indigenous Studies subject regulations https://www.waikato.ac.nz/study/subject-regulations/maori-and-indigenous-studies/ [11] 260117-st-rcv-8fw-praise-7ce6f-ahAGVf6QTPG06BHPnAvXYw.md https://ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/web/direct-files/collection_49cf4814-4e30-4d4a-b577-2cb7c0693044/184d046e-0f79-450b-8d3a-858811e14de6/260117-st-rcv-8fw-praise-7ce6f-ahAGVf6QTPG06BHPnAvXYw.md [12] 260117-rcv-8fw-praise-7ce6f2b1-7Wj3CHWKQnWjmp6GY_WKOA.md https://ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/web/direct-files/collection_49cf4814-4e30-4d4a-b577-2cb7c0693044/eacd9f26-b435-4883-9bf2-a3e18479b9b5/260117-rcv-8fw-praise-7ce6f2b1-7Wj3CHWKQnWjmp6GY_WKOA.md [13] Te Wāhi Whangai methodology: A nurturing space for storytelling, achievement and research https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14733250241300217 [14] Introducing ‘Ngaruroro’, a New Model for Understanding Māori Wellbeing https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/4/445/pdf?version=1712308942 [15] Autoethnography as a decolonising tool: bringing identity into the classroom https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2024.2307924 [16] Restoring the Feminine of Indigenous Environmental Thought https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/3/1/11/pdf?version=1553512180 [17] A short form summary of Takatāpui Beyond Marginalisation: Exploring Māori Gender, Identity and Performance. https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/rangahau-aranga/article/download/146/136 [18] Navigating wahine Kāi Tahu methodology https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/download/765/704 [19] Master's Thesis Regulations https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/documents/policy/research-policy/masters-thesis-regulations.pdf [20] Masters Theses and Dissertations :: University of Waikato https://www.waikato.ac.nz/int/students/examinations/assessment/masters-theses-and-dissertations/