Challenging Epistemic Racism: Incorporating Māori Knowledge into the Aotearoa New Zealand Education System

The Aotearoa New Zealand education system is based largely on Western knowledge, and, consequently, all other epistemologies are silenced, which results in epistemic racism. Epistemic racism disregards certain peoples’ capacity to produce or learn knowledge, denying their full humanity. To challenge this dehumanisation, researchers argue that Indigenous Māori epistemologies need to be incorporated into the education system as equally valid to Western knowledge. Although little research has been done in this area, several frameworks and initiatives have been developed to integrate Indigenous and Western knowledge. They identify some possible supporting factors including community involvement and the availability of Indigenous knowledge resources. Several challenges are also identified, including how to remove the marginalisation from one knowledge system without subordinating another. Epistemic racism is a complex problem that will require the transformation of our education system. However, the first step is to challenge one’s ideas about what counts as valid knowledge