Visiting professor Krushil Watene discusses the importance of Indigenous philosophy, justice
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Māori scholar Krushil Watene projected a photo of herself and a youth education group canoeing on New Zealand’s Taumārere River to an audience of more than 20 students and faculty in Bird Library. Understanding their responsibility to learn about Māori culture is Watene’s group’s mission.
“We need more diversity and we need to hear the voice of those communities who hold the key and the knowledge to address issues that are impacting humanity, not just Indigenous communities, but humanity overall,” said Indigenous Studies Professor Mariaelena Huambachano.
On Monday afternoon, the SU Humanities Center hosted “Indigenous Philosophy and Intergenerational Justice.” Watene discussed Māori concepts, the revitalization of their communities and the support of their knowledge.
Watene is in the middle of a residency as a 2024 Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities. The program spotlights on-campus residencies of humanities intellectuals, writers and creatives.
She is currently a Peter Kraus Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Auckland and an Associate Professor at Massey University, which is in Palmerston North, New Zealand. She teaches political and Indigenous philosophies and other subjects on well-being, she said.
Watene welcomed attendees in Māori. She also addressed the gravity of Indigenous philosophies on interpersonal relationships and their impact on climate justice and innovation.
“In particular, we work together to think through how communities enact social environmental responsibilities, or what we call kaitiakitanga, guardianship, stewardship, against the backdrop of historical injustice, ongoing struggle, loss of community and so on,” Watene said. “We explore the significant role of local community practices and practitioners for justice.”
Huambachano said the idea of this event came about because there is a small number of Indigenous scholars who have joined SU over the past couple of years. It’s important to have a scholar who can articulate specific Indigenous philosophies and concepts, she said.
Dian Ling | Contributing Photographer
At the discussion’s end, the three remarkable women who coordinated the event, Mariaelena Huambachano, Krushil Watene and Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson, gathered for a photo.
“We need to have more of those voices, especially coming from the Pacific, of Indigenous scholars working when it comes to climate justice, environmental sustainability, and when it comes to intergenerational justice and knowledge,” Huambachano said.
Watene said Māori philosophy situates everything in a complex system of relationships that date back to the origins of the universe and are important as long as the Earth exists. All living beings, knowledge and practices are prominent parts of this system. The Māori word for this occurrence is whakapapa, meaning to place in layers.
Whakapapa provides a framework for relationships’ malleability, Watene continued, discussing kaitiakitanga, the Māori word for guardianship.
“Kaitiakitanga can be understood, then, as a collection of responsibilities enacted by Māori communities to reinforce and enable flourishing social-environmental relationships within tribal boundaries,” Watene said. “Kaitiakitanga continues to respond to the ongoing experiences of communities now and in the future.”
However, Western philosophy often ignores the future because of the privilege of technology and economic growth, Watene said. This orientation can, ultimately, harm both Indigenous philosophies and futures. Recognition of Indigenous philosophy is a requirement of justice, and Watene said she wants to celebrate the way they provide opportunities for critical and creative thinking.
Sharon Moran, an Associate Professor in SUNY ESF, said her students want to know of policies that help to solve environmental problems. Moran said Watene’s talk clarified there are entirely different ways of looking at responsibilities and rights.
“She went over some Māori perspectives on how people relate to different kinds of life, the Earth, and each other, and these are strong, durable ways of guiding people in their actions and decision-making,” Moran said.
Watene said she borrows her thinking from legal theorist Moana Jackson, in that each generation is part of a continuous series of new beginnings. She said intergenerational orientation reminds us that as we walk backwards into the future, facing our ancestors, each other and our descendants.
“It reminds us that we need to find the courage to profoundly change our story, to be bold enough to set a new course and to inspire the world to hold that course toward a just future,” Watene said.
