"In the middle there's a great space for us to make magic."
Mr Te Hurihanganui said Te Papa Takaro identified obesity as the "biggest epidemic in the developed world".
"For Maori, we've been given a food system that isn't our own," he said.
"We began a conversation with world experts, because often what works for one indigenous group can be transferred to another."
The speakers had come from as far afield as Nigeria and the United States.
Mr Te Hurihanganui said for them it was about healing the environment, not a human-centred health approach.
"People who struggle with general access to food, struggle with access to quality food and that influences their diet," he said.
"We want to raise awareness for the systems in place for how people get food."
Mr Te Hurihanganui said there were other factors in place around the Maori community, such as poverty and education which made nutrition a low priority.
Elise Dela Cruz-Talbert had travelled from the University of Hawaii to speak at the symposium.
"I am giving an overview of some of the efforts in Hawaii to build on traditional Hawaiian food systems and how that can improve health," she said.
"It's about healthier foods and real foods, foods that they have a whakapapa to."
Miss Dela Cruz-Talbert said there were many similarities between indigenous Hawaiians and Maori.
"We are seeing people who don't have enough money even to buy food, then unhealthy food is much cheaper," she said.
"It's a capitalist food system. We're starting to see people awake and engaged, it has the potential to travel down to a community level change."
