The politics of terminology: Māori food sovereignties, positionality and mana motuhake

Positions mana motuhake as theory and rangatiratanga as praxis for addressing Māori nutritional health inequities within and beyond colonial food systems.• Examines Indigenous and Māori food sovereignty terminologies to illuminate how power, race and colonialism shape food and nutritional wellbeing.• Advances a kaupapa Māori theoretical contribution to support Māori individuals and organisations working across food systems and sectors towards collective nutritional wellbeing. Background and positionalityThe nutritional health inequities that Māori face are deeply connected to the interrelations between power, food and colonialism (Burgess and Koroi 2024; Rapata 2025).This paper examines key terminologies across Indigenous and Māori food sovereignty landscapes and movements, attending to the nuances of these power relations.It positions mana motuhake as a theoretical landing place for Māori individuals, organisations and communities working towards addressing Māori nutritional health inequities.Mana motuhake is presented as the theory and rangatiratanga as the praxis for Māori in confronting colonialism, race and White supremacy in relation to food and Māori nutritional wellbeing.This discussion is deeply connected to my positionality as a wahine Māori and trained clinical