Projects

This project asks whether there are lessons to be had found in both the Māori Covid-19 response to date and the growing body of evidence that papakāinga living has benefits beyond the physical home that could inform a wider response to prepare whānau for current and future infectious disease threats and ultimately support ongoing socio-cultural connection and thus everyday good mental health?

Western views on disability & underfunding of Indigenous health marginalises kāpō Māori. New research aims to change this & centre kāpō Māori lifeworlds

Often Kaumātua and elders generally, are seen as vulnerable and passive recipients of services throughout the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. However, in the village of Ohinemutu and as citizens of their iwi Ngāti Whakaue, Kaumātua have been active leaders in the response of the village, initially during the first four-week lockdown in 2020.

This research explored how uri of Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa found new and creative ways to reconnect with their whenua and te taiao during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through intergenerational interviews, the project highlighted sensory and spiritual practices of reconnection—shared through podcasts and a short film to inspire and support collective healing.

Māori are facing many challenges in their work experiences, especially during Covid-19. This research seeks to understand the unique cultural strategies that employees engage in that make these challenges more bearable.

Over the past 60 years, the water quality has declined in many large NZ lakes, including Rotorua, Pupuke, Rotoehu, Rotoiti, Tutira and Horowhenua in the North Island, and Lakes Ellesmere (Te Waihora) and Forsyth (Wairewa) in the South Island (Rowe 2004). All of these lakes are important taonga to tangata whenua, and have served as pataka kai for many generations.

This study will explore how comparative views of “home” relate to concepts such as identity, whakapapa, and hauora and how these concepts thereby impact service utilisation and uptake in two areas (one rural and one urban). The research seeks to ask

Research on the impact of COVID-19 on Māori tends to highlight its negative outcomes. This strengths-based research project examines improvements in Māori wellbeing that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

New research analyses the mental, relational, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing of over 3000 Māori during and post-lockdown through Te Rangahau o Te Tuakiri Māori me Ngā Waiaro ā-Pūtea | The Māori Identity and Financial Attitudes Study (MIFAS).

We have identified a set of questions relating to Māori restorative justice in the Aotearoa Justice system and its effectiveness for Māori:

What are the barriers Māori face when they participate in restorative justice as it stands?

What can we learn from the traditional ways of resolving conflict that could minimise these barriers?

‘Ubiquitous Maths Learning Made Easy for Rangatahi and Adult Learners. (Especially if we are in lockdown!)’

Adults and rangatahi often come to maths learning with an already formed (negative) mathematics learning identity. Rangatahi know that for certain future goals they will need to “have” mathematics as part of their knowledge “suite”.

What unique Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are offered in Aotearoa workplaces that directly engage in a positive way with Māori employees? 

What do these look like? How are the perceived (and received) by Maori and non-Māori employees? Do they positively shape attitudes as we might expect - and if not, why not? What are the barriers and drivers behind them? 

This Ageing Well NSC research project explored the unique role of kaumātua within Ngāti Whakaue, challenging government definitions that homogenise Māori elders. It highlights how kaumātua serve whānau, marae, hapū, and iwi—and what’s needed to support and sustain their leadership into the future.

This research report has been titled Rākau-nui as an acknowledgement to the full moon phase in the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Rākau-nui also represents the collected journey to which this full report has been constructed from. The Maramataka is

This report has been prepared for Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga as part of the summer internship programme 2018-2019. This project is titled Tangaroa Ara Rau: Whānau connections and Water Safety with a purpose to understand unique whānau connections to water and its benefit for water safety.

How do fat Indigenous wāhine reclaim body sovereignty as a form of resistance? This research centred on the lived experiences of fat Māori wāhine, challenging colonial and biomedical narratives through the lens of mātauranga Māori. It reclaims tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake of the body, and reimagines access, wellbeing, and worth beyond systems of oppression.

This research explored how mahinga toi—through process, theory, and creative output—supported whānau, hapū, and iwi oranga and mana motuhake. Grounded in Te Whānau a Apanui, it developed a tukunga iho methodology that extended pūrākau into creative practice, recognising toi as both healer and knowledge system.

Kia ū ki tau kawai whakapapa, kia matau ai, ko wai koe, e anga atu koe ki hea – Take ahold of your ancestral stem, so that you might know, who you are, and what direction you're going in.