Academic literature on the topic 'Kaupapa Māori Research'

Understanding how to undertake Kaupapa Māori research can be a challenge for emerging health researchers. Unless emerging researchers have exposure to Kaupapa Māori theory or senior Māori health research expertise, the challenge of undertaking Kaupapa Māori research within health research contexts can seem daunting, and for some, too difficult to attempt. This article summarizes what an Indigenous positioning means to me as a health researcher, medical practitioner, academic and Māori community member, and why it is more than just a methodological approach. The theoretical basis of Kaupapa Māori—what it is, how it emerged and what it means for my own research practice—is explored. How Kaupapa Māori interacts with Pacific research methodologies, particularly when health research involves both Māori and Pacific participants, is discussed. It is hoped that this article will assist emerging researchers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) to embrace Indigenous-appropriate research approaches within their own work.

Kaupapa Māori is thoroughly theorised in academia in Aotearoa and those wishing to use it as their research methodology can find support through the writing of a number of Māori academics. What is not so well articulated, is the experiential voice of those who have used Kaupapa Māori as research methodology. My identity as a Māori woman researching with Māori women became integral to my methodology and approach to the research. The highs and lows of my research experiences with Kaupapa Māori methodology are examined in this article. The discussion contends that Kaupapa Māori research methodology can be a framework, guide and support for research within a Māori context and adds an experiential aspect to understanding the wider field of Indigenous research methodology. My hope is that through my experience with Kaupapa Māori methodology other Māori and Indigenous researchers will be eager to embrace their own research methodologies.

Sport psychology consulting with athletes who are from an indigenous ethnic group presents some challenges and opportunities that do not typically need to be considered when consulting with nonindigenous athletes. Māori1 are the indigenous ethnic group of New Zealand. To work as a sport psychology consultant with Māori athletes and indeed any indigenous athletes (e.g., Tahitian, First Nation Canadian Indian) it is important for the sport psychologist to have an understanding of Te Ao o Nga Tāngata Whenua (indigenous worldview) and tīkanga Tāngata Whenua (indigenous cultural practices; Hanrahan, 2004; Schinke & Hanrahan, 2009; Tuhiwai-Smith, 1999). Both research and practice in the social sciences regarding Māori people seek to use a Kaupapa Māori (Māori research and practice platform) approach. Kaupapa Māori attempts to ensure that cultural sensitivity is infused from the conceptualization of an intervention (e.g., psychological skills training, psychological intervention) through to the design, delivery, evaluation, final analysis, and presentation of the intervention or research project. A Kaupapa Māori approach to sport psychology consulting attempts to ensure that key Māori aspirations are honored and celebrated, as many Māori do not wish to follow a non-Māori ideology that depersonalizes the whānau (family) perspective and seeks individuality in its place (Durie, 1998a; Mead, 2003). Therefore, an effective sport psychology consulting program for an athlete who lives her or his life from a Te Ao Māori (Māori worldview) and tīkanga Māori (Māori cultural practices) perspective needs to be constructed as a Māori-for-Māori intervention based within a Kaupapa Māori framework.

Kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori, with Māori) researchers have provided a space to undertake research that is culturally responsive, ensures the voices of Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) are heard, and challenges structural barriers to Māori health and wellbeing. This article describes my journey to develop a Kaupapa Māori methodology appropriate for exploring whānau (families) experiences following the harm or loss of their infant around birth. Guidance from key informants was sought and a Kaupapa Māori methodology was then developed based on their wisdom, expertise, and experience. The five components of this methodology are designed to keep all involved in this research safe: whānau (family), wāhi haumaru (providing a safe space), whakaaro (engaging in Māori philosophies), kaitiaki (being empathetic), and hononga (building and maintaining relationships). Researchers undertaking Kaupapa Māori research are invited to use this methodology, or follow a similar process to develop their own expert-informed methodology.

Kaupapa Māori methodologies in Aotearoa New Zealand have often been applied to content of immediate and direct relevance to Māori communities. Some of these include research about aspects of cultural revitalisation or examinations of the position Māori occupy within broader ethnic disparities, particularly in health and social outcomes. This article seeks to expand the application of Kaupapa Māori paradigms to research topics outside ‘te ao Maori’ (the Māori world). We argue that the Kaupapa Māori theorising of a Māori visual arts and culture scholar can provide crucial insights on white privilege in Aotearoa New Zealand with a view to addressing disparities and creating more embracing and equitable perspectives of belonging, citizenship and nationhood.

The phrase ‘for Māori, by Māori, with Māori’, synonymous with Kaupapa Māori research, reflects the strong community participatory orientation and aims of this paradigm. Its use has evolved from glib reference and catchphrase, to a ‘checklist'/gauge of how well a research project has enacted community participatory principles, and to what extent Māori participation in the research process is meaningful and empowered. Description of research according to this ‘shorthand’ definition, however, can be misleading. This paper will discuss two models of collaborative scientific research, conducted at the Institute of Environmental Health and Research (ESR) in association with Māori communities, ‘for, by and with Māori’. However, Te Riu o Hokianga and the Rakaipaaka Health and Ancestry Study occupy opposite ends of the shared partnership – researcher-led spectrum, and differ quite significantly in their orientation, application of Māori research principles, and approach to achievement of their objectives. If the ‘for, by and with’ mantra does not in itself sufficiently guarantee alignment with Kaupapa Māori principles, what other mechanisms exist to ensure that this is so? Is articulating the degree of Māori responsiveness for funding and ethics proposals adequate? Where these judgements are largely subjective, who decides when a research project ‘measures up’: Kaupapa Māori researchers, participating Māori communities, funders, or perhaps ethics committees? The importance of Māori-focused innovation, development and advancement in research has been indicated within Vote RS&T policy and incorporated into funding/investment opportunities within an existing framework that values research excellence and a track record. Ensuring that research excellence as defined and purchased translates into excellence in practice is one issue. A further and equally important issue is whether the measures and means of achieving excellence therein translate into excellence for research practice with Māori communities. In the context of conducting research with Māori within a Crown Research Institute, a third issue emerges: that of the alignment (or not) of science excellence indicators and outcomes with those of Māori research excellence. With reference to two examples of science research collaboration with Māori communities, these three key issues will be considered, with inference for Māori research excellence and future directions in collaborative scientific research.

INTRODUCTION: This article discusses the development of a distinctively Māori methodology that centres knowledge and practices that are embedded within whānau. Mātauranga-ā-whānau is a Kaupapa Māori approach that brings a focus upon Māori knowledge that is transmitted intergenerationally.APPROACH: The development of Mātauranga-ā-whānau as a methodological approach supports both the assertion by Graham Hingangaroa Smith (1997) that Kaupapa Māori must be committed to the validation and legitimation of Māori worldviews and the argument by Leonie Pihama (2001) that there are multiple ways of expressing Māori theories and methodologies. Pihama (2001) highlights that affirming whānau, hapū and iwi ways of being within the broader discussion of Kaupapa Māori is critical. While it is beyond the scope of this article to provide an in-depth discussion of both Kaupapa Māori theory and Mātauranga Māori, it is important to note that both cultural frameworks inform the way in which Mātauranga-ā-whānau is discussed.CONCLUSIONS: Drawing upon whānau knowledge, experiences and practices, through pūrākau, this article introduces how Māori can approach research applying culturally grounded methodologies.

This article will discuss the theory and the research design used in a study as partial fulfilment of completing a Master of Social Work degree. The research design consisted of a Māori-centred approach, drawing strongly from Kaupapa Māori theory and principles, using qualitative methods. It presents the author’s research journey and discusses the practical tasks involved in doing research, as encouragement and support for other Māori practitioners thinking about doing a Master of Social Work.

In Indigenous culture, stories are a common repository of knowledge and facilitate the process of knowing. Māori academics (Indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand) have developed approaches based on key principles of Māori research, oral traditions and narrative inquiry to express experiences as Māori. To extend this, a Māori approach called Kaupapa Kōrero was developed to gather, present and understand Māori experiences. The application of whakapapa (genealogy) as a relational analytical framework provided a way of identifying personal kōrero (stories) and integrating them within layers of interrelated kōrero about their whānau (family), te ao Māori (Māori culture) and society that influences contemporary experiences of being Māori. Whakapapa also enabled a cross-examination of kōrero and identification of common intersecting factors such as Māori ethnicity, age, parenting status and socioeconomic position. This Māori narrative approach revealed a more complex and nuanced understanding of the interrelatedness and influence of societal expectations, indigeneity, Māori culture and whānau.

Māori in Aotearoa have higher incidence, prevalence and mortality from chronic disease. The dominant narrative in Aotearoa about the reasons for Māori ill health neglects to acknowledge the history of colonisation and failures of the health system, alongside the holistic view of health taken by Māori focusing on collective, whānau-based outcomes. In this article, we review health interventions for chronic disease that have a kaupapa Māori philosophical basis. Our findings demonstrate that there is no clear process in health service design, delivery, research and funding that values and understands mātauranga Māori. Western knowledge systems are inadequate for collecting and presenting Māori knowledge. Overall, we highlight that the tension between acknowledging that a “by Māori, for Māori” approach is best, and the difficulty in defining appropriate evidence collection methodology and outcome measures when funders and policy makers continue to require Western-centric interventions is an obstacle to improving Māori health outcomes.

This thesis sets out to provide the background to the development of Atuatanga and to clarify its meaning and its whakapapa in Te Māoritanga and Te Karaitianatanga. Although it has been taught as Māori theology in Tikanga Māori of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, this thesis argues that is includes theology and more: it is a way of living that critically analyses all the attributes of te Atua and endeavours to live those reflections in the world in order

This study was concerned with the health implications of new forms of gambling such as casinos, pokie machines and internet gambling for Māori women and their families in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty region of Aotearoa (New Zealand). It set out to discover what culturally appropriate services were available and the extent to which Māori women gamblers were utilising them. The literature documenting Māori perceptions of gambling shows that Māori women gamblers and their partner/whānau members and gambling service providers have been little studied previously. These goals translated into the following specific aims: 1) to study how Māori women problem gamblers, their partner or whānau members and key informants perceived gambling, what it meant to them and why they did it; 2) to investigate the consequences of gambling for Māori women, whānau and service providers in dealing with the effects of gambling; 3) to report on how these three groups dealt with the effects of gambling; and 4) to discover what helped to bring about positive changes for the three groups. All of the aims were achieved. A Māori approach (Kaupapa Māori), combined with a naturalistic approach to data collection, was adopted. Qualitative methods are most appropriate to use when working with some Māori, as there is a growing realisation that research with Māori needs to be interactive. A Māori research procedure modelled on the ritual ceremony of encounter (Pōwhiri) provided an appropriate structure for the development and presentation of the research process. The major focus was on the qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews in two locations - Rotorua and Auckland. The interviews were conducted with twenty Māori women gamblers, sixteen whānau members including partners and ten interviews with staff involved in services that provided help for problem gamblers. The three interview schedules were based on a number of broad themes and open-ended questions to obtain meaningful descriptive data. The interviews were audio recorded and used to produce transcripts that were then sent back to the participants for feedback. Qualitative data analysis was conducted on the returned documents. The findings from this study revealed major impacts of the women's socio-economic, familial and societal circumstances on gambling behaviour and its effects, which are areas of concern for mental health professionals and researchers. The mythical Māori canoes on which Māori voyaged from their place of origin (Hawaiiki) to Aotearoa, the Waka, provided an appropriate metaphor to present the interrelationship between the pull and push factors toward gambling, and its implications for society. This is illustrated as a spinning waka, Te Waka Hūrihuri. On the other hand, Te Waka Māia (courageous) demonstrates the relationships between the variables that help Māori women gamblers to cope and helpful strategies found to assist them to modify or stop their gambling behaviour. It is recommended that the government limit the proliferation of gaming venues and continue to encourage development of emerging Māori services. Moreover, a coordinated approach is essential, as Māori women gamblers, partners and whānau members need to heal together for positive outcomes for Māori health development in Aotearoa. The main implication of this study is that a wide range of further research into Māori and gambling is required. Recommendations on ways in which the current delivery of services in Rotorua and Auckland could be improved are: That the Ministry of Health purchase services that establish support groups for Māori people with problem gambling and their whānau, and That non-Māori provider services and organisations support the development of emerging Māori services. Heeding the outcome of this research should help improve New Zealand's existing health policy and capacity for Māori women's health development. It should also enrich our understanding of the adaptation patterns of Māori whānau member/s, and thus should have implications, not only for Māori health policies, but also relevance for the wider field of international cross-comparative research on indigenous gambling and mental health issues. Limitations of this study included a small, localised sample that means the findings can only tentatively be generalised to the wider population of Māori women gamblers. Nonetheless, information gained from the study contributes to understanding of the adaptation patterns of Māori women gamblers, their whānau member/s, and those who are trying to help them. It is hoped that the study will make it at least a little less true that every day is a war day for Māori women and their whānau trying to deal with the problem of gambling.

A Geographic Information System visually communicates both spatial and temporal analyses and has been available for at least twenty years in New Zealand. Using a Kaupapa Māori Research framework, this research investigates the benefits and barriers for Māori if they were to adopt GIS to assist their development outcomes. Internationally, indigenous peoples who have adopted GIS have reported they have derived significant cultural development benefits, including the preservation and continuity of traditional knowledge and culture. As Māori development continues to expand in an increasing array of corporate, scientific, management and cultural arenas, the level of intensity required to keep abreast of developments has also expanded. GIS has been used by some roopū to assist their contemporary Māori development opportunities; has been suggested as a cost effective method for spatial research for Waitangi Tribunal claims; has supported and facilitated complex textual and oral evidence, and has also been used to assist negotiation and empowerment at both central and local government level. While many successful uses are attributed to GIS projects, there are also precautionary calls made from practitioners regarding the obstacles they have encountered. Overall, whilst traditional knowledge and contemporary technology has been beneficially fused together, in some instances hidden or unforeseen consequences have impeded or imperilled seamless uptake of this new technology. Challenges to the establishment of a GIS range from the theoretical (mapping cultural heritage) to the practical (access to data) to the pragmatic (costs and resources). The multiple issues inherent in mapping cultural heritage, indigenous cartography and, in particular, the current lack of intellectual property rights protection measures, are also potential barriers to successful, long-term integration of GIS into the tribal development matrix. The key impediments to GIS establishment identified by surveyed roopū were lack of information and human resources, and prioritisation over more critical factors affecting tangata whenua. Respondents also indicated they would utilise GIS if the infrastructure was in place and the cost of establishment decreased. Given the large amount of resources to be invested into GIS, and the opportunity to establish safe practices to ensure continuity of the GIS, it is prudent to make informed decisions prior to investment. As an applied piece of Kaupapa Māori research, a tangible outcome in the form of an establishment Guide is presented. Written in a deliberately novice-friendly manner, the Guide traverses fundamental issues surrounding the establishment of a GIS including investment costs and establishment processes.

There is a requirement for all services within the New Zealand health system to be accredited with an established quality organisation and to demonstrate an ability to provide a measurable quality service to consumers. For Māori these requirements must make sense in Māori terms. This thesis is based on the view that, for Māori, the concept of health is more effectively expressed as hauora - optimal health and wellbeing for Māori. This thesis makes five contributions to Māori health and Māori health research. First, it identifies a responsive approach to engaging kaumātua effectively in the process of qualitative research. Second, it identifies a fundamental underlying conceptual framework – kaupapa hauora Māori as a means of understanding hauora – expressed in terms derived from kaumātua in Taranaki and Kahungunu. Third, it adapts this conceptual framework into an analytical research framework and then applies it to allow kaupapa hauora Māori (described in terms of worldview, values and ethics) to be identified from a range of data. Fourth, it critically analyses popular models of Māori health – Te Whare Tapa Whā, Te Wheke and Ngā Pou Mana. Finally, it proposes and details post-doctoral research that will translate kaupapa hauora Māori into a quality services framework/tool. “Kaupapa Hauora Māori” is a conceptual framework articulated by kaumātua, and has its origins in te ao Māori, from which the aronga or worldview is developed. The aronga is composed of the kaupapa or values and tikanga or ethics that provide kaumātua with the values base of hauora. These components have been identified by kaumātua and not only inform the concept of KHM but also inform the analytical research framework that is applied to the data. The values have been identified as a core set of values comprising whakapapa, wairua, whenua, whānau, tikanga te reo Māori, tinana, and hinengaro, and the associated tikanga is expressed as behaviour or ethics. These, together, influence the perception and understanding individuals have of their world and of hauora.

This interdisciplinary research investigated the construction of cultural identities in the Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy in Aotearoa New Zealand. On the example of New Zealand’s indigenous population, the Māori, this study examined convergences and divergences of the self-image which describes the construction of cultural identity from Māori perspectives with the planned and projected Māori identities in selected Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy channels. Ethnographic methods like participant observation and informal interviews with members of the Ngāti Awa tribe were conducted based on Kaupapa Māori theory which is a theoretical framework developed by Māori. This data was contrasted with expert interviews with representatives from governmental institutions, diplomatic representations, cultural tourism operators and cultural or art institutions. Results of this research show that the construction of planned and projected Māori identities in selected Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy channels and the self-image of members of Ngāti Awa coincide to some extent. In Nation Branding, information about Māori is often simplified and Māori are presented as one single entity. On the contrary, the information about Māori offered by Public Diplomacy is more profound and approaches by Māori shaping their representation could frequently be observed. Increased efforts to shape the representation of Māori in Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy by Māori could be detected. This thesis demonstrates various examples, such as touristic and cultural experiences offered by the Māori community or the self-promotion of Māori tribes to foreign publics in diplomatic functions. This ’bottom-up’ construction of cultural identities enables Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy to create a unique differentiation to other nations directly constructed from the community. It provides a stronger identification for the members of a nation with Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy and produces a more authentic and credible image of the nation to foreign audiences.

The quality of the processes involved in language regeneration strategy formation is critical to the creation of an effective language regeneration strategy and this, in turn, is critical to the achievement of successful language regeneration outcomes. The overall aim of this research project was to evaluate, using a range of effectiveness criteria, the processes involved in the creation of a marae-based te reo Māori regeneration strategy in the hope that others involved in similar projects in the future would benefit and in the hope that the Whakamārama whānau will themselves derive benefit from it in reviewing what has already been achieved. In Chapter 1, the background to the research project and its rationale are outlined and the research questions and research methods are introduced. Chapter 2 provides a critical review of selected literature in the area of strategic planning aspects of language regeneration and relevant aspects of mātauranga Māori. Using an ethnographic approach, the processes and immediate outcomes (in terms of a survey report and a regeneration plan for Whakamārama marae) of the language regeneration project are outlined in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, effectiveness criteria are derived on the basis of the literature review in Chapter 2. These include criteria relating to leadership, participation, Kaupapa Māori values, environmental analysis and outcomes. The criteria are then applied to the analysis and evaluation of the processes and outcomes outlined in Chapter 3 in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The overall conclusion is that Whakamārama's language regeneration activities to date can be regarded as successful in many ways, including the fact that they have resulted in the production of high quality documentation that is widely appreciated by the whānau in the form of a maraebased language survey and a marae-based te reo Māori regeneration plan. Working voluntarily and often under difficult circumstances, core group members demonstrated that they possessed the essential characteristics of commitment, motivation and determination, in addition to the willingness and ability to use existing skills and knowledge effectively and to develop further skills and knowledge as the project proceeded. Perhaps most important, they developed a caring and effective working culture. However, the weaknesses of the project included a lack of preparation and planning prior to the commencement of the project which resulted in a build up of work at a number of stages. This, in turn, lead to delays in producing outcomes and some loss of momentum. It also led, indirectly, to the views of two or three members of the core group being overrepresented in the reo plan goals. The information and analysis provided here have relevance to any language community involved in micro-level language regeneration activities of a similar type. It is hoped therefore that this thesis may help others to not only avoid the problems experienced by the Whakamārama whānau but also to benefit from their successes.

Good sexual and reproductive health is fundamental to the overall health status of Māori communities. In 2001, the Ministry of Health reported that New Zealand was facing a Chlamydia epidemic. This epidemic has not abated as rates of Chlamydia have increased significantly in the past five years, with disproportionately high rates in young Māori women compared to non-Māori women. Despite significant sexual health disparities, young Māori have had limited opportunities to participate in research focussed on sexual health and voice their opinions and concerns on sexual health issues. This qualitative descriptive study has used a Māori inquiry paradigm and approached the research from a Kaupapa Māori perspective. The primary research question asked what the knowledge, attitudes and reported behaviours of young urban Māori women were in regards to sexual health and in particular, the sexually transmitted infection Chlamydia. Secondary aims were to ascertain the sources of information used and accessibility of sexual health services, as well as identifying resilience factors associated with protection against Chlamydia infection. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with 16 young Māori women living in the Auckland region. Data analysis involved the inductive approach of categorical content analysis to identify major categorical themes to answer the specific questions posed. The main conclusion was that there are a number of barriers to accessing quality sexual health information and services for young Māori women. Participants’ level of knowledge varied reflecting their personal experiences and many were unaware that Chlamydia is asymptomatic and that delayed diagnosis can lead to fertility problems. The main sources of sexual health information accessed were whānau, peers, school, and contact with health professionals. Racism was identified as one of the barriers to sexual healthcare services. The young women expressed a clear preference for sexual health services to be delivered by Māori. Most importantly, for sexual health interventions to be successful it is essential that Māori communities, including young people and their whānau, are an integral part of creating positive solutions. Resilience factors that may help protect young women from contracting chlamydia characteristic of this group were having a strong connection with a caring adult or friend and parents who viewed sexuality as a normal part of adolescent development. In addition, having a positive Māori cultural identity with an ability to understand bicultural differences was strongly associated with participants accessing sexual healthcare services despite identified barriers.

This dissertation is concerned with the ways in which Māori legal traditions have changed in response to the process of negotiated settlement of historical claims against the state. The settlements agreed between Māori groups and the state provide significant opportunities and challenges for Māori communities and, inevitably, force those communities to confront questions relating to the application of their own legal traditions to these changed, and still changing, circumstances. This dissertation focuses specifically on Māori legal traditions and post-settlement governance entities. However, the intention is not to simply record changes to Māori legal traditions, but to offer some assessment as to whether these changes and adaptations support, or alternatively detract from, the two key goals of the settlement process - reconciliation and Māori self-determination. I argue that where the settlement process is compelling Māori legal traditions to develop in a way that is contrary to reconciliation and Māori self-determination, then the settlement process itself ought to be adjusted. This dissertation studies the nature of changes to Māori legal traditions in the context of the Treaty settlement process, using a framework that can be applied to Māori legal traditions in other contexts. There are many more stories of Māori legal traditions that remain to be told, including stories that drill into the detail of specific legal traditions and create pathways between an appropriate philosophical framework and the practical operation of vibrant Māori legal systems. Those stories will be vital if we in Aotearoa/New Zealand are to move towards reconciliation and Māori self-determination. The story that runs through this dissertation is one of a settlement process that undermines those objectives because of the pressures it places on Māori legal traditions. But it need not be this way. If parties to the Treaty settlement process take the objectives of self-determination and reconciliation seriously, and pay careful attention to changes to Māori legal traditions that take place in the context of that process, a different story can be told – a story in which Treaty settlements signify, not the end of a Treaty relationship, but a new beginning.
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Manaakitanga plays an important role in Māori society. There are several meanings associated to this Māori cultural concept, one of which refers to the fostering and nurturing of relationships between a host and a visitor. The well-being of the visitor is paramount to the development of this relationship as the mana (prestige) of the host is at stake. If the host fails to manaaki (support) their visitor this could result in the loss of mana within the Māori community as the host has shown they are incapable of attending to the needs of others. In recent times, there has been an increased presence of the term manaakitanga in tourism related documents, which has generated several interpretations of this cultural concept. Currently, various government organisations use this concept as a basis for developing both short and long-term strategies. This is particularly noticeable in the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015. However, there are varied interpretations of the term manaakitanga by the tourism industry, which are in conflict with Māori operators understanding and knowledge of manaakitanga reflected in their businesses. In order to contextualise the experiences and perspectives provided by Māori tourism operators, a theoretical framework has been developed. This framework called ‘Te Kōhai’ located in kaupapa Māori (Māori ideology) ideology best reflects the world-view of the participants who form the basis of this study. Thus, this study has been prompted by the research question - how is manaakitanga interpreted in a Māori tourism operation? Possible misinterpretation of manaakitanga may result in the concept being used incorrectly and the transgression of cultural practices, thus compromising the experiences offered by Māori tourism operations. It is important then, to investigate, whether manaakitanga is understood as ‘hospitality’ in the tourism industry and more specifically, by people who work within a Māori tourism operation. Additionally, it is important to determine how staff employed in a Māori tourism operation, understand and portray this concept. Subsequently, interpretations of manaakitanga from the perspective of Māori tourism operators, forms the basis of this thesis.

Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are being diagnosed with schizophrenia at significantly higher rates than majority groups all around the world. Aetiological literature reveals a wide range of causal explanations including biogenetic, social and cultural factors. A major limitation of this body of research is the assumption of schizophrenia as a universal syndrome. When viewed through an indigenous lens, experiences labelled schizophrenic by Western psychiatry have been found to vary from culture to culture in terms of content, meaning and outcome. The current project aimed to investigate Māori ways of understanding experiences commonly labelled ‘schizophrenic’. The philosophical frameworks that guided the research were Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory. A qualitative approach was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 participants including tangata whaiora (service users), tohunga (traditional healers), kaumatua/kuia (elders), Pākehā clinicians, Māori clinicians, cultural support workers and students. Four categories were derived from qualitative thematic analysis. These being: making sense of the experiences, pathways of healing, making sense of the statistics and what can we do about the statistics. Overall, Māori constructions related to other indigenous constructions of mental illness and wellbeing cited in the international literature but were in stark contrast to current psychiatric constructions. The current project indicated Māori participants held multiple explanatory models for extra-ordinary experiences with the predominant explanations being spiritual. Other explanations included psychosocial constructions (trauma and drug abuse), historical trauma (colonisation) and biomedical constructions (chemical brain imbalance). Based on these findings, recommendations for the development of culturally appropriate assessment and treatment processes are presented. Over the last couple of centuries a single paradigm, the medical model, has come to dominate the explanation and treatment of illness in Western society. Via legal and political means, indigenous models of illness and wellness have been wiped out or forced to the margins of many societies. This thesis aims to challenge the dominant medical model that has privileged psychiatric knowledges while suppressing others by repositioning indigenous construction at the centre of the research via a Kaupapa Māori framework. Chapter One aims to deconstruct current medical constructions by presenting psychiatry as a culture in itself as opposed to a discipline dedicated to scientific truths. This chapter posits that the culture of psychiatry has lead many clinicians to suffer from “cultural blindness” when working with indigenous and ethnic minority groups. Chapter One uses the tools of science to question the scientific validity and reliability of the construct “schizophrenia”. I conclude that this construct is “unscientific” in itself. I will also look at three themes highlighted by other researchers regarding the treatment of mental illness throughout Western history: treatments are used as a form of social control; treatments can be dehumanising; and the dominance and power of the medical model to define who and what is considered ill. Chapter One also acknowledges the significant role of the consumer movement in developing more humane treatments. Interactions between culture and psychiatry via colonisation are outlined in Chapter Two. I also critique research that is conducted cross culturally in terms of whether researchers attempt to establish the reliability of universal diagnoses or recognise local and unique constructions. Chapter Two challenges the commonly cited finding of higher rates of schizophrenia for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples by questioning the validity of foreign cultural constructs to explain indigenous forms of illness. This chapter recognises indigenous and cultural constructions of what psychiatry labels ‘schizophrenic’. To illustrate, three ‘culture bound syndromes’ will be discussed. The development of indigenous psychological paradigms is also presented to position the current research within this wider international movement. Chapter Three summarises Māori constructions of illness and wellness. This chapter predominantly draws from early anthropological literature and subsequent psychological studies to represent the resilience of Māori constructions of experiences commonly labelled schizophrenic. In accordance with the experiences of other indigenous populations, this chapter also recognises the impact of colonisation on Māori beliefs and practices relevant to maintaining wellness. To illustrate the effect of colonisation, disparities in statistics between Māori and non-Māori for admissions and readmissions to inpatients units for psychotic disorders will be discussed. Explanations for these disparities will also be outlined. Within Chapter Three, the resistance and revival of Māori constructions is also recognised as a function of the development of bicultural and Kaupapa Māori Services. Chapter Four, summarises the theoretical orientation of the research. This research is qualitative and assumes a post-modern critical paradigm. Two theoretical frameworks were used within this research (Kaupapa Māori Theory and Personal Construct Theory) to represent the two worlds in which the research was conducted (Indigenous and Western). Chapter Five outlines the methodology by recounting a somewhat layered journey. Within the first section, ‘Who am I’, I have positioned myself by sharing my journey towards conducting this project. The second section, ‘Where did I want to go’, outlines the research aims and process of consultation. The final section summarises ‘What I did’ in terms of qualitative interviews and the process undertaken for interpretation and presentation of the data. Chapter Six presents the results of the research according to the four categories developed from qualitative analysis. These were: ‘Making sense of extra-ordinary experiences’, ‘Pathways of healing’, ‘Making sense of the statistics’ and ‘What can we do about the statistics’. Within this chapter I have attempted to present quotes with as little interpretation as possible (over and above sorting of themes) to allow the reader to make their own interpretations before reading the discussion. Chapter Seven summarises the major findings from each category and relates the results to the national and international literature. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed with recommendations for future research. The limitations and strengths of the research are highlighted and conclusions drawn from the research journey. The plan for dissemination is also presented.

The chapter draws from notions and experiences of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) in the context of a pūrākau (indigenous narrative) approach to understanding and developing a Kaupapa Māori conceptual framework. This approach acknowledges Mātauranga Māori (Maori bodies of knowledge) as the theoretical basis for Kaupapa Māori praxis, particularly in the field of health and social services. A pūrākau approach includes utilizing whakapapa kōrero (genealogical narratives) as it informs the use of traditional principles, beliefs, and practices (tikanga) in working alongside Māori whānau, hapū, and iwi. These purakau identify natural elements represented in the form of Ātua, or Gods. Through whakapapa (genealogical descent), Maori episteme positions tangata whenua within nature. The indigenous worldview recognizes the inter-connected relationships, obligations, and responsibilities that underpin the philosophical positioning of kaitiaki practices.

The intention of this chapter is to critically examine what happiness is, what happiness might look like, and what happiness might even feel like from the Māori perspective. It incorporates a personal record of the author's journey of resistance and transformation. It aims to discuss some realities that Māori wahine, including the author, have faced in a colonized Aotearoa. The chapter reclaims a space for Māori women defined by tikanga and kawa while investigating the physiological functions of the whare tangata, whare, hinengaro, and whare tinana and how these inform philosophical constructs. While the methodology used to bring these stories to light was auto-ethnography, qualitative, and kaupapa Māori, combining these methods allowed the validity of the voices to be heard from their own lived experiences and narratives. The chapter articulates to identify and describe “happiness” and what that could possibly look like from a Māori wahine worldview.

This chapter leads a critical discourse amongst research and educational leadership communities around the nature of cross-cultural interactions and the role diversity plays in changing the status quo with regard to access, equity and academic achievement. Through this strengths-based qualitative inquiry, the authors bridge Kaupapa Maori (Maori ideology) and critical race theory methodologies with Maori and non-Maori culturally responsive leadership frameworks. Prerequisite conditions for effective cross-collaboration are presented based on the experiences of an international, interdisciplinary research team in collaboration with practicing Maori and non-Maori leaders of primary and secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The aim of the partnership is to promote the voices and practices of effective school leaders, through cross-cultural collaboration and research, to continue building critical mass for the important role of informing effective, culturally responsive leadership practices across Aotearoa NZ.