Proceedings of the Mātauranga Taketake - Traditional Knowledge Conference 2006 - Indigenous Indicators of Well-being: Perspectives, Practices,

The Mātauranga Taketake: Traditional Knowledge Conference was convened in June 2006 to address issues, practices, models and perspectives for protecting, sustaining and nurturing traditional systems of knowledge. The Conference invited participants to consider the following questions:

• How do we know that our knowledge, ways of knowing and associated practices are in a state of wellbeing?
• What practices do we use to sustain and help the next generation look after our systems of knowledge?
• How do we know that our relationships, languages, literatures, stories, environments,healing practices, spiritualities, genealogies, bodies, children, elders, women, men, and communities are flourishing?
• What are the basic indicators that we use to give us confidence that all is well?
• How do wemeasure our development and advancement?

Internationally generated indicators of well-being, like indicators of development, have a subtle but significant impact on Māori and other indigenous communities. An international conference with associated community workshops and satellite meetings enabled us to bring together in dialogue a wide range of participants, perspectives, voices, frameworks and models for developing indicators that best indicate well-being from indigenous points of view.