Towards best-practice inclusion of cultural indicators in decision making by Indigenous Peoples

The purpose of this article is to explore the state of knowledge of cultural indicators internationally and in Aotearoa New Zealand. Cultural indicators are a geographically specific means of enabling measurement of a particular culture’s attributes. Cultural indicators, their definition and their measurement are the sole prerogative of Indigenous Peoples. How Indigenous indicators are included in tools and models is critical, as decisions are no longer being made in purely Indigenous contexts. The method of inclusion is potentially more important than the augmented understanding provided by the cultural indicators themselves. While some indicators are transferable, the accuracy and appropriateness of the evaluation cannot be assumed unless the cultural indicator set is verified with the relevant Indigenous community. The challenge is to avoid the constrained approach of only acknowledging the instrumental value and ensure that the approach is manageable in terms of scale to ensure the effective incorporation of concepts not readily understood in the Western scientific paradigm.