For Margaret Aull (Te Rarawa, Tūwharetoa, Fiji) research is not confined to universities, journals, or doctoral programmes. It can also emerge through creative practice, community collaboration, and the revitalisation of Indigenous knowledge systems. That is the message she shared as an invited speaker at the recent gathering of Māori and Pacific Fellows hosted by Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Margaret was invited to contribute a perspective often underrepresented in traditional research spaces: the role of creative practice in generating, preserving, and revitalising Indigenous knowledge.

Central to her presentation is The Veiqia Project, a decade-long initiative dedicated to researching and revitalising traditional Fijian tattooing practices that were heavily impacted by colonisation. The project brings together a collective of Fijian researchers, artists, practitioners and community members across Aotearoa, Australia, Fiji and the United States, working towards reconnecting Fijian communities with an important part of their cultural heritage.

Veiqia is specifically a woman to woman tattooing practise. Through colonisation, missionary influence and changing social attitudes, much of this knowledge was suppressed and gradually disappeared from public consciousness. Aull explains that the loss of the practice also contributed to the loss of associated stories, rituals, cultural objects and intergenerational knowledge.  

Over the past ten years, The Veiqia Project has worked to reverse that process through exhibitions, workshops, community engagement, museum partnerships and educational resources. The project has collaborated with organisations including the Fiji Museum, universities, cultural institutions and funding bodies to document and share knowledge while ensuring it remains accessible to the communities it belongs to.

Aull believes one of the project’s greatest strengths is its collective approach.

“There is a lot of strength in rebuilding memory together and remapping story back into our skin and lives – We have a website and actively contribute to written material or forums - so that our Indigenous histories and unique practices are not marginalised again. We have been very clear that the research we have done - isn’t ours it belongs to Fiji. It is part of the wider Indigenous revitalisation movement taking place across the Pacific. “

This philosophy places community benefit at the centre of the work. Rather than viewing research as something extracted from communities, the project focuses on returning knowledge, restoring cultural memory and creating pathways for future generations.

In 2025, The Veiqia Project was recognised with a Creative New Zealand Pacific Heritage Arts Award, acknowledging both its cultural significance and its contribution to Indigenous knowledge revitalisation. More recently, members of the project have begun reintroducing traditional tattooing practices, marking an important milestone in making the knowledge a living practice once again.

For Aull, the invitation from Royal Society Te Apārangi was an opportunity to demonstrate that research can take many forms. Whether through academic inquiry or creative practice, the goal remains the same: strengthening communities, restoring knowledge systems, and ensuring cultural traditions continue to thrive for future generations.

Margaret is a Programme Developer based at Te Puna Manaaki.