WHĀNAU ORA
WITH, AGAINST AND BEYOND THE STATE
Meet the team: MA scholar Robyn; principle investigators Aroha and Melissa; and the many kai-rangahau who joined the project at different times to support the research.
ROBYN TAUROA
Ki te taha o tōku pāpā
Ko Maungaemiemi te maunga
Ko Te Awaroa te awa
Ko Te Aeto me Te Whanau Pani ngā hapū
Ki te taha o tōku māmā
Ko Taratara te maunga
Ko Mangawhero te awa
Ko Ngāti Rangimatamamoe te hapū
Ko Hiwi rāua ko Pat Tauroa ōku mātua
No Whangaroa ahau
Ko Robyn tōku ingoa
Tēnā rā koutou kātoa
My research explores how whānau have maintained their well-being and identity through their kaitiakitanga relationships with taonga tuku iho in their privatecare. As an oral history project based in Whangaroa, it involves interviews with kaitiaki,looking at how their responsibilities have helped maintain their identity and connection to tupuna. My research has the support of Whangaroa Papa Hapū and in part builds from a ten-year involvement with Whangaroa claims to the Waitangi Tribunal Wai 1040 inquiry. There are three case studies within the project. He Tuitui is about a Singer sewing machine gifted by a European husband to his Ngāti Rangimatamamoe wife, only months before her premature death. The case study explores its movement among the whānau and how its presence has provided a tangible connection to their tupuna whaea. Whanaungatanga ki Whangaroa focuses on interviews with whānau kaitiaki responsible for taonga tuku iho ranging from kahuto kohatu, and discusses how the narratives associated with each have been shared with whanau during visits, gatherings and ceremonies. He Paraikete explores the creation and development of a collection of blankets during the Wai 1040 hearings, the ability of these contemporary taonga to assist in there-connection of whānau to Whangaroa, and the relationships between Whangaroa and the wider Taitokerau district.
MELISSA MATUTINA WILLIAMS
Ko Panguru raua ko Papata ngā maunga
Ko Whakarapa te awa
Ko Waipuna te marae
Ko Te Waiariki te hapū
Ko Te Rarawa te iwi
Kia ora, ko Melissa Matutina ahau. I have the pleasure of undertaking the oral history component of our research project, collecting stories about daily whānau life from whānau who negotiated their wellbeing in a fast changing world and with state polices and authorities in the twentieth century. I’ll be exploring what whānau ora meant in the early to mid-twentieth century and how achieving that oranga may have changed over time. I’ll be asking what values and practices were viewed as important in upholding the wellbeing of our families, and why?From whanau based in my homeplace in North Hokianga to those living in Auckland, their kōrero will contribute a rich dimension to the project.
AROHA HARRIS
I te taha o tōku pāpā:
Ko Maungataniwha te maunga
Ko Tāpapa te awa e re re ana ki te wahapū o Hokianga
Ko Mangamuka te marae
I te taha o tōku māmā:
Ko Tarakeha te maunga
Ko Taikarawa te awa
Ko Mātihetihe te marae
Nō reira, ko Aroha Harris tōku ingoa, no Te Rarawa, no Ngāpuhi hoki.
I am responsible for the part of the project that focuses on Māori policy in historical perspective. My research will range from 1890s aspirations for a comprehensive programme of Māori health services to the 1986 Puao-Te-Ata-Tureport that called for a bicultural approach and partnership model of Māori welfare. Historical case studies will highlight Māori women’s health and welfare labour throughout the twentieth century, and the continuation and revitalization of traditional whānau practices for whānau care. As a team, we are keen to show the power of Māori community resourcefulness, resilience, and innovation, straining under the socio-economic pressures of the modern century, and flailing without resources and without empowerment.
We have many people to thank.
We are grateful for the support of the Marsden Fund Council, through government funding administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Much of that funding was put towards a team of research assistants - students of Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. We are deeply thankful for the many contributions they made to the project at different points in time. He nui ngā mihi ki a rātou.
Nathan Williams (Ngāti Kahu) joined us from the outset, undertaking important secondary source research and shedding light in particular on the teachings of Pā Henare Tate. Nathan also completed several interviews for his own research. Tatijana Simon-Larsen (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) and Caitlin Moffat-Young reviewed and compiled various policy documents and government reports. Gabriella Brayne (Ngāti Maniapoto) reviewed theoretical framings relevant to the project, with a focus on 'organised abandonment' and how states systematically abandon certain communities through policies (such as health and welfare) that treat some groups differently to others. More recently, Bobby Walker (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Waikato) produced detailed summaries of selected government archives, while Alex King thematically analysed a range of social development policy and service documents.
Finally, Elizabeth Williams (Te Rarawa) has been a constant support, picking up a range of administrative and research assistance tasks alongside developing this website.