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In Aotearoa (New Zealand), Te Rau Ora is a national centre for Māori health and wellbeing, that highly values Kaumātua (respected elders) who enrich the organisation through their wisdom, presence, and dedication to supporting Māori workforce development. In this article, staff reflect on their own experiences and feedback about the work of two Kaumātua, with more than 60 years working in the mental health and wellbeing and Māori health workforce training arenas. Examples from their work delivering wānanga (traditional learning opportunities) across Aotearoa includes for the workforce employed and training in Māori suicide prevention and postvention, for and with whānau Māori (families) and hapori Māori (communities). Privileging kaupapa Māori (philosophy) introduces other Māori concepts such as use of marae (tribal gathering venues) as the preferred location for training; pūrākau, sharing stories; oranga, the creation of life; Ihi, the essence of life; Mana, enhanced with personal development; wehi, a response of awe, Ihowai that is a reflection space and time and; Makurangi, perfection. Training that is based on foundational Māori values of tika (correct), pono (truth) and aroha (love) use content drawn from Mātauranga Māori (knowledge) and Tirohanga Māori (perspectives). Key concepts from Durie's Te Whare Tapa Whā (four-sided house) model of Māori wellbeing includes speaking directly about tinana (physical) wellbeing, wairua (spiritual) matters and links it to hinengaro, (mental) health and wellbeing. The employment of Kaumātua in the delivery of wānanga by Māori, with and for Māori, is a vital tool for building Māori workforces and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This intervention paper, based on the Kaupapa Māori writing inquiry, aims to offer an alternative path forward to the idea that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should apologise for its racism. It argues that an apology is redundant to the Indigenous World. The goal is for better Church-Indigenous relations in the face of racism rooted in The Book of Mormon, Church Policy, doctrine, teachings, and theology. The author develops a positionality and outlines mahi tuhituhi as a Kaupapa Māori (post) qualitative writing inquiry. The Author then moves to contextualise these issues by framing them with what sociologists describe as Zombie Concepts. A brief overview of the Book of Mormon and its significance in Mormonism is provided. Following that, an understanding of the connection between Aileen Moreton-Robinson's white possessive and Lamanitism is provided. Hagoth and his relationship with Tāngata Moana (Māori and Pacific Peoples) is then addressed. Recent remarks by Thomas Murphy to help readers understand the racism in the Book of Mormon. Other issues for Indigenous Peoples are highlighted, with an emphasis on anachronisms and the Book of Mormon's plagiarism. The investigation then shifts to provide Veracini's commentary on settling to build relationality is discussed from the viewpoint of Aotearoa New Zealand. A discussion of the issues is followed by an outline of the research's consequences, which include seven issues that need to be addressed as part of the relationality building in order to create a collaborative future values-based project to move Church-Indigenous relations forward in a positive way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first study using a Kaupapa Māori approach to examine emergency department non-traumatic dental presentations (NTDP) found barriers to accessing primary oral healthcare and a paucity of Kaupapa Māori initiatives. The study reviewed 2034 NTDP to the Christchurch emergency department between 2018 and 2020. Māori and Pacific peoples were overrepresented compared to local population estimates (27.0% and 6.9% vs 9.4% and 3.2%, respectively). Māori had the highest age-standardised incidence of hospital admission, but shorter length of stay compared with Pacific peoples and NZ Europeans (0.9 vs 3.8 and 2.0 days, respectively). Provision of high-quality, equitable care for Māori requires further action and accountability, concluded the study authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To arrive in Aotearoa, we traversed thousands of miles. Waka hourua were our papakāinga and te ra filled with wind to carry us. Finding our way, we drew on knowledge of oceans, skies and winds. Creatures of the sea and air showed us the way and signs and signals of this world and between and across worlds guided us. We made our homes in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, making lives for ourselves, drawing on long held matauranga. Our science, our scholarship is embedded in te tai ao and the survival and wellbeing of our people. We continue to find our way, drawing on long held matauranga and adapting and developing new knowledge. In this article, I attempt to centre being māori, exploring what it is to work and write with colonisation at the margin, rather than the defining determinant of who we are and how we differ. I face the challenge of writing as a Māori scholar, to claim rangatiratanga in our practice and representations of these practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where does the object or idea begin, and where does it end as 'unseen' (and how do both those states of being provoke our thinking)? There is scope in Maori philosophising to think of the seen object or its idea in various ways, including as materially constituting the self and the rest of the world; as incomplete for a mental representation; as constituted in itself by the unseen (and thus not symbolic of any division between seen and unseen); and as co-constitutional with nothingness and presence. The possibilities of the seen object are several, especially if the concept of 'seen' is understood as immediately determined by its other. This paper considers the consequences of the seen and unseen and the illogical in Maori thought for 'teach-learn' and in particular for the translation of teach-learn as 'ako' in the Maori language. It also discusses some possibilities for the term 'porangi', which is often quoted in relation to 'madness' but has deeper metaphysical potential that combines the reality of gloom/unseen alongside a heady potential. I refer to this phenomenon as 'giddying abjection' and turn it towards unpicking the certainty that ako as teach-learn replicates. Porangi can refer to self-derision, and I take certain statements of mine and destabilise them from their certainty. In that act I hope to show that students and scholars could follow a similar path with their own statements and, in so doing, subject their own utterances to madness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A qualitative study using Kaupapa Māori methodology found that Māori with eating disorders and their whānau have their own experiences, needs and required treatment responses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Māori with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder) and two whānau members. Overall themes were antecedents, treatment and recovery. Causal factors of eating disorders were cumulative exposure to body and sporting ideals and adversity. Complexities of treatment included rural settings for generalised mental health services, allocation of Māori cultural support, the economic burden of treatment, culturally incongruent treatment (methods, values) and a weight-focused discharge criterion. Recovery was aided by appropriate health information, self-determination, connection to culture and whānau aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Another Kaupapa Māori qualitative study found support for future lung cancer screening in Aoteoroa New Zealand, and identified key barriers and facilitators of screening. A total of 21 Māori current/ex-smokers and members of their whānau participated in three focus group sessions held in Auckland in August 2019. Being more informed about lung cancer and screening, and enabling healthier future generations, were noted as perceived benefits of screening. Previous negative health service experiences, fear, stigma, and access were noted as barriers. Providers' cultural competence, clear communication, having a one-stop shop, and support with transport were noted as enablers to screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Kaupapa Māori study of public health competencies led to development of a competency document suitable for use by universities and workplaces. Increasing language expectations, the importance of strength-based approaches and self-determination, and the need for individual responsibility to address structural racism were key themes identified in the competencies. A fundamental cross-cutting competency was reflective practice. Planetary health and political ideologies were suggested for inclusion by participants as additional socio-political determinants of health with equity impacts. The need for cultural safety, and ensuring that all public health practitioners are 'seen', were key concerns related to application of the competency document. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]