Oh what a tangled web we weave : Matauranga Maori representation on the World Wide Web

Abstract

In the past Matauranga Maori (Maori traditional knowledge) was only handed down to the select few to keep its integrity and authenticity. Modern technology, libraries and archives have given access to Matauranga Maori not only for the select few but for everyone. There is no restriction on who can put information on the World Wide Web and Matauranga Maori has now become a commodity (Mead 2004). In recent years research has investigated Matauranga Maori on the internet, the digitization of Matauranga Maori and also the intellectual property of Matauranga Maori. There has been much debate on Matauranga Maori accessibility, ownership and protection; however this study will focus on a small portion of these areas, accuracy and authority. Research methodologies used overseas and within Aotearoa (New Zealand) have been utilized within this study to identify Matauranga Maori on the World Wide Web, specifically looking at the accuracy and authority of Matauranga Maori on the internet. In order to undertake this study, forty five Iwi (tribe) sites on the internet were randomly chosen and assessed against a specific set of criteria. Data was collected by ranking the iwi sites against these specific criteria. For the purpose of this research project, sites that are from hapu are designated in this study as iwi sites to enable the researcher to identify best practice across the sites. Using a qualitative research method, the results showed that iwi sites used a variety of domains to get their tribal information out to their iwi and the quality of information also varied across iwi site