31/7/26 Indigenous Knowledge Intellectual Property and Native Flora

Indigenous Intellectual Property and the y two six Claim

• y two six Claim: A fauna, flora, and intellectual property rights claim filed in $1991$ and completed in $2011$. It addresses the protection, conservation, and transmission of knowledge regarding indigenous resources.
• IP Conflict: Traditional legal systems prioritize individual, time-bound, and commercial ownership, whereas indigenous knowledge is collective, ancestral, and enduring.
• Ko Aotearoa Te Nai: A $2011$ report affirming that New Zealand should lead in protecting taonga works and Matauranga Maori.
• Commercialization of Cultural Works: Concerns arose when professional rugby began in $1995$, leading to the commercial use of the kamate haka, which belongs to a specific iwi and ancestor.

Rongoa Maori and Holistic Health Models

• Rongoa Maori: Customary healing involving medicinal native plants and sensory-based therapies. Practices include Miri Miri and Romi Romi (physical therapies) and the use of Taonga Puoro (windblown instruments) for vibrational therapy.
• Whare Topo Wha: A health model introduced by Ta Mais and Juri in the $1980s$. It views health as a house with four sides, emphasizing a holistic approach over purely biomedical interventions.
• Regulatory Integration: Health New Zealand and ACC have integrated Rongoa Maori services since $2020$ for accident support.

Native Flora: Structural and Navigation Uses

• Harakeke (formium 10 x): A lily used to replace bark technology. Fibers are extracted for weaving superior garments, such as the te mahutonga korowai, and used for riparian planting to control erosion.
• Tea coker (Cabbage Tree): Used as mapping plants to mark pathways across Canterbury. Historical earth ovens (Timuka or "strong earth ovens") were used to cook the high-starch stems for $2\,days$ to produce a sweet drink called Kaoru.
• Gropo (Bulrush): Used for house construction, making poi, and baking pollen into pungapunga bread.

Medicinal and Edible Native Plants

• Kumarahou: Known as "gum digger soap." Used for chest complaints like bronchitis and tuberculosis. Research currently explores its anti-diabetic potential.
• Kawakawa: The "pepper tree," known for its bitter (kawa) taste and antiseptic properties. It contains over $60$ active compounds used for dental pain and inflammation relief.
• Maamaku: Large tree ferns with edible, starchy koru (unfurling fronds) that are pithy and high in nutritional value.
• An eco palm (Nikau): The undeveloped heart leaf is edible and has mild laxative properties; it was historically eaten by pregnant women to assist labor.
• Karaka: Known for its orange fruit. While the flesh is edible, the kernel contains the toxic glycoside kraken. Processing requires boiling for $12\,hours$ and soaking in running water for weeks to prevent muscle-tearing spasms.
• Tutu: A shrub with extremely poisonous seeds. The juice was traditionally filtered through toy toy heads to create a non-toxic jelly for sweetening foods.

Questions & Discussion

Question: Is there any history of Maori developing alcohol traditionally? Response: While often stated that no alcohol was developed, oral traditions mention a fermented "happy juice" made from kiakia that elders would steep for $2\,weeks$.

Question: Were toxic plants like Karaka or Tutu ever galvanized (weaponized)? Response: There is very little oral tradition suggesting these plants were weaponized, despite their high toxicity and occasional modern outbreaks of toxic honey due to tutu pollen.