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Awardee: Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor (Leticia Joesphine Ngoi Vizor), The University of Auckland

This research explores how Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (NWŌ) whānau understand, experience, and sustain collective oranga and mental wellbeing, with the overarching aim of developing a culturally grounded iwi-led mental health strategy. The project emerged from the NWŌ Mental Health Forum, established in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns in response to rising isolation and mental distress. In 2022, following the tragic loss of a rangatahi to mate whakamomori (suicide), the forum was revitalised, prompting a renewed focus on oranga and mental wellbeing, and the development of an iwi-specific strategic response.

Awardee: Linda Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Waikato-Tainui), University of Waikato

The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Tikanga and the State - Selected Papers of Sir E. Taihākurei Durie.

This collection brings together published and unpublished papers by Tā E. Taihākurei Durie, organised around the theme of hapū and Māori communities as the location of Māori authority. While Durie’s 1994 Custom Law paper is pre-eminent in bringing custom law into the realm of jurisprudence, the collection spans a remarkable range of papers and reports written over four decades, each exploring different facets of tikanga.

Project lead: Mr Kāhui Iles (Ngāti Porou), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

This project explores future sustainable economic developments in Te Tairāwhiti, specifically within Te Rohe Pōtae o Ngāti Porou. Historically dominated by farming, the region now faces environmental challenges such as climate change, erosion, and biodiversity loss.

Project lead: Dr. Emmy Rākete Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)

In the last four decades, New Zealand has begun imprisoning on a scale never seen before in this land’s history. Māori people have consistently made up at least half of the prison population, and Māori communities are among those that have experienced the worst consequences of mass incarceration.

Project lead: Associate Professor Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua ō Orākei, Tonga) The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)

Recognising the value and interconnectedness of human and non-human life, climate activism is directed toward the protection of our biosphere and natural environment as a whole. In Aotearoa, such activism as a distinctly Indigenous social practice has clear yet underexamined connections to Māori concepts such as kaitiakitanga.

Project lead: Dr Karen Wright Kāi Tahu The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau (Host)

Māori in Aotearoa experience large and persistent differences in health outcomes compared to non-Māori in nearly all health conditions. While causation of these unfair and unjust differences is understandably complex, differential access to health care services and differences in the quality of care received are contributing factors.