Te Atawhai o Te Ao

06/09/2026

Our July Tā Te Rangatira Kai Seminar presenter Marcus Tamaira (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) shared his research titled: Finding tāne ora—The lived experience of Māori men who have survived whakamomori (suicidal behaviour).

The topic of Marcus's presentation was tāne ora—the mana and mauri of Māori men. It was also about whānau ora, because when mana tāne and mana wāhine are strong, so are whānau. Finally, it is about mana motuhake, because when our Māori boys and men thrive, so does Māoritanga.

Against this backdrop, his presentation examined whakamomori and mauri noho as culturally grounded concepts that reveal how distress is shaped by cumulative social, historical, and relational pressures rather than individual weakness. Despite disproportionately high rates of su***de and mauri noho among Indigenous males across CANZUS (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States) nations, little research has centred the lived realities of older Māori men who have survived such profound distress.

Drawing on a qualitative Kaupapa Māori study with nine tertiary‑educated tāne Māori aged 35–65 — the Brothers — his presentation shared their kōrero as Māori men working in professional sectors who have navigated whakamomori and mauri noho and journeyed toward mauri ora.

The analysis draws on Te Whare Tapa Whā and the Ngaruroro Framework to explore disruptions and reconnections across taha wairua, hinengaro, tinana, and whānau. The 'Brothers’ insights highlight the impacts of racism, inequity, and colonisation alongside strengths-based pathways towards tāne grounded in cultural identity, wairuatanga, and connection to whānau, tūpuna, whenua, and purpose. Ultimately, the presentation affirms that when Māori men are supported to flourish, the mauri of whānau, hapū, iwi and Māoritanga is strengthened.

You can watch the recording of this presentation below.

02/09/2026

14/08/2026

2026 Te Atawhai o Te Ao, He Pounga Waihoe scholarships (Masters/Doctorate) and community writers awards are now open!

All applications are taken online
Value of the awards are between $5,000 and $10,000
Go to https://teatawhai.maori.nz/scholarships-and-writers/ for more information

Applications close 5pm Monday 14th September, 2026
Applicants advised of outcome 19th of October, 2026

27/07/2026

Our June Tā Te Rangatira Kai kaikōrero, Teresa Foster (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Ātiawa Nui Tonu, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri), presented "Whakamaharatanga: Re-centering wairua in Māori public health – methodological reflections from a kaupapa Māori doctoral journey."

Her presentation explores wairua and Māori healing practices. Rather than presenting research findings, this kōrero focuses on the methodological journey of undertaking kaupapa Māori research, where wairua is not treated as a belief or metaphor, but as a foundational reality within a Māori worldview.

Teresa discussed how whakapapa, tikanga, wānanga, whānau accountability, marae-based engagement, and relationships with kaumātua, kuia, cultural advisors, iwi leaders, and academic supervisors have shaped the research process. This includes reflections on travelling for kanohi ki te kanohi kōrero, holding wānanga on her own marae on Wharekauri (Chatham Islands), and navigating the responsibilities of researching tapu mātauranga as both a practitioner and doctoral researcher.
The presentation also considers how methodology itself can become a form of whakamaharatanga, remembering and honouring the knowledge, relationships, and spiritual responsibilities handed down by our tūpuna, while protecting sacred knowledge and ensuring that research remains accountable to whānau, hapū, iwi, and future generations.

You can watch the recording of Teresa's presentation below.

08/07/2026

Our May Tā Te Rangatira Kai presenter, Nina Reese Fischer (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi), presented 'Ako: The microskills of mentoring partnerships – a person-first approach as a collective'.

Her Master inquiry (Massey University Specialist Teaching) explores how early intervention practitioners can support early childhood kaiako to identify and grow their strengths through co-participatory mentoring partnerships grounded in Ako, with a strong emphasis on wairua, relational reciprocity, and collective well-being. Drawing on Appreciative Inquiry and the voices of seven experienced West Coast early childhood education (ECE) kaiako, the research foregrounds mentoring as a relational, spiritually nourishing practice that honours the whole person. A consistent finding was the importance of te noho haumaru—a felt sense of safety—as foundational to learning, trust, and growth, aligning closely with Wairua through its focus on ethical reciprocity, mana, and purpose within professional relationships.

Five interconnected themes emerged that reflect the inquiry’s contribution to our Waimāori, Waiata, and Waipuna research priorities: Kaiako are stronger together when supported as a collective; diversity is a taonga that enriches learning partnerships; trust and honesty enable professional risk taking; strengths-based language cultivates agency; and sensory aware, neuro affirming approaches uphold embodiment and body sovereignty. By recognising kaiako as sensory learners and affirming multiple ways of being, knowing, and contributing, the inquiry supports social resilience and identity while also respecting physical regulation, autonomy, and well-being as integral to learning. In response to these insights, the inquiry reframed its focus to 'Ako: The microskills of mentoring partnerships – a person-first approach as a collective.'

This informed the design of a five-session profession learning and development (PLD) framework grounded in te ao Māori concepts and an ecological worldview, supporting Waiora through strengthened learning environments and sustainable professional ecosystems. Mentoring is re-positioned, not as an individual intervention, but as a shared, culturally anchored pathway toward rangatiratanga, where kaiako are empowered as confident contributors within thriving educational communities.

You can watch Nina's presentation below.

10/06/2026

Our April Tā Te Rangatira Kai presenter, Ella Cameron-Smith (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Ngāti Ranginui), invited you to join her online for a cuppa and kōrero as she shared He Pātaka Oranga.

This presentation explores Māori culinary traditions and written Māori food knowledge, think Māori cookbook - but more than that. It is a compilation of whānau stories, recipes, and notes that reflect lived experience and intergenerational knowledge.

Ella shared that her koro once told her the watercress doesn’t taste the same once you’ve been away for 54 years. She reflected on this sentiment, considering how memory, anecdote, and storytelling shape a dynamic understanding of Māori culinary traditions and food knowledge within her own whānau.

Watercress becomes a catalyst for kōrero about whānau history, highlighting mobility and movement as key influences on how Māori culinary traditions have evolved to their current state and where they may head in the future. This has also led to deeper exploration of written Māori food knowledge: what it is, the role it plays, and how it has developed in response to the movement of our people, particularly within her own whānau.

You can watch the recording of Ella's presentation below.

26/05/2026

Get those proposals ready e te whānau!

For more information: [email protected]
Apply here:
https://www.maramatanga.ac.nz/funding-opportunity/internship-project-application

18/05/2026

Te Atawhai o te Ao are proud to support this kaupapa and the growing body of research in the Mate wareware - Dementia space.

06/04/2026

💚🌿🌱

26/03/2026

February's Tā Te Rangatira Kai kaikōrero, Jennifer Sarich (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Hāua ki Taumarunui), presented “Te Whare Hīnātore – A kaupapa Māori response to housing insecurity for wāhine Māori.”

This presentation draws on Jennifer’s doctoral thesis research, which also formed an evaluative government report of Te Whare Hīnātore — Auckland’s first kaupapa Māori–led women’s transitional housing service, operated by The Auckland City Mission.

Housing insecurity and homelessness have continued to rise across Aotearoa over the past two to three years, making this kaupapa both urgent and timely. The presentation will briefly explore the complex and interwoven societal factors that displace people to the margins of society, with a particular focus on wāhine Māori. Intersectionality and Mana Wahine theory are used to better understand these overlapping and compounding structures.

This site-based case study draws on interviews with four raukura (residents) and five kaimahi (service providers) at Te Whare Hīnātore, to gain deeper insight into lived experiences of housing insecurity and kaupapa Māori responses. Pūrākau (Indigenous storytelling) was used as an analytical tool to produce life narratives of raukura, alongside the concept of a “marae model of care,” which articulates the service’s unique practices and the challenges associated with them.

Interwoven themes that contextualise histories of housing insecurity include trauma, grief, state care intervention, racism, and poverty, as well as shifts in internal states of healing and navigating pathways forward. This rangahau has significant implications for wāhine and their whānau, as well as for government ministries, leading service providers, and therapeutic practice.

You can watch the recording of this presentation below.