Woven languages: understanding Indigenous socioecological systems.

Language connects cultural and biological diversity and can contribute to both big data and localised approaches to improve conservation. Analysing Indigenous languages at regional level supports understanding of local ecologies and cultural revitalisation. Collated linguistic datasets can help to identify large-scale patterns, including extinctions, and forge robust multidisciplinary approaches to biocultural decision-making.

Pepe-infant sleep practices and sudden unexpected death in infancy in Aotearoa New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: To explore pepe [infant] sleep practices and the key motivators among selected Maori and non-Maori mama [mothers] in Auckland, New Zealand, in relation to the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI). METHODS: Qualitative research underpinned by a kaupapa Maori cultural framework was undertaken. In-depth face-to-face interviews occurred in the homes of mama with young pepe born in Counties Manukau, Auckland. Interview transcripts were analyzed using general purpose thematic analysis. RESULTS: Thirty mama participated, including 17 Maori. Two-thirds of mama reported previous or current bed sharing. The fundamental human need for adequate sleep motivated half the mama in the present study, and especially Maori mama, to bed share. The second most common reason given was closeness and convenience. This was followed by breastfeeding, which was cited as a reason by Maori mama only. These findings were interpreted in terms of intrinsic fear, culture, and mama deployment of knowledge. CONCLUSION: Service providers are encouraged to respond to the lived experiences and cultural realities, values, and beliefs of mama when designing and delivering effective SUDI prevention interventions. Innovative approaches for providing structured and opportunistic, culturally appropriate education and support around safe sleep are likely to be well-received by mama and their whanau [family/ies].

Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral Traditions.

Human settlement into new regions is typically accompanied by waves of animal extinctions, yet we have limited understanding of how human communities perceived and responded to such ecological crises. The first megafaunal extinctions in New Zealand began just 700 years ago, in contrast to the deep time of continental extinctions. Consequently, indigenous Maori oral tradition includes ancestral sayings that explicitly refer to extinct species. Our linguistic analysis of these sayings shows a strong bias towards critical food species such as moa, and emphasizes that Maori closely observed the fauna and environment. Temporal changes in form and content demonstrate that Maori recognized the loss of important animal resources, and that this loss reverberated culturally centuries later. The data provide evidence that extinction of keystone fauna was important for shaping ecological and social thought in Maori society, and suggest a similar role in other early societies that lived through megafaunal extinction events.