‘It feels special when you’re Māori’—voices of mokopuna Māori aged 6 to 13 years

ABSTRACT

Mokopuna Māori and their whānau have the right to be involved meaningfully in the health and disability system, through genuine commitments to participation and self-determination. This Kaupapa Māori qualitative study explored mokopuna Māori concepts of wellbeing in relation to health and disability services, contextualised within broader tāngata whenua rights to health and wellbeing, and continued Crown failure to recognise these rights. Informed by a Kaupapa Māori research paradigm privileging worldviews and experiential knowledge of mokopuna Māori, we carried out focus group interviews with 26 mokopuna aged 6 to 13 years. Using thematic analyses we identified ten themes from the data analysis: (1) Aro ki te hā; (2) Kupu; (3) Mātauranga; (4) Mauri; (5) Utu; (6) Mana motuhake; (7) Hau Ora; (8) Kaitiakitanga; (9) Ūkaipō; and (10) Tika. The narratives of mokopuna Māori in this study reaffirm the critical importance of recognising mokopuna as knowledge holders, creators, and makers of meaning to participate in, and articulate their views on, their own wellbeing, their environments, and other matters important to them. Privileging their views and perspectives supports mokopuna to navigate their own processes of self-determination and sovereignty for themselves, their whānau and their communities.

Glossary of Māori words: Aotearoa: Māori name for the North Island of New Zealand, often used as a name for New Zealand; Aro ki te hā: the awareness of the essence of one's breath; Hau Ora: healthy, well; He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tīreni: the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand; Hinapōuri: to be very dark, very sad; Iwi: extended kinship group, tribe, nation, people, bone; Kai: to eat, food, meal; Kaitiakitanga: guardianship; Kākāriki: be green (in colour); Karaka: be orange (in colour); Kaupapa Māori: Māori agenda, Māori principles, Māori ideology; a philosophical doctrine, incorporating the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values of Māori society; Kia ora: be well, hello, cheers, best wishes; Koha: gift, offering; Kōrero: speak, speech, address; Kōwhai: be yellow (in colour); Kupu: word, saying, utterance; Mana Motuhake: authority and capacity to be autonomous; Māori: name for Indigenous peoples of New Zealand; Mātauranga: knowledge, wisdom; Mauri: life principle, life force, vital essence; Māwhero: be pink (in colour); Mokopuna: grandchild, grandchildren, descendant; Oranga: health, wellbeing, vitality; Pākehā: foreign; Papatūānuku: Earth Mother; Pēpi: baby, infant; Rangatahi: younger generation: Rangatira: chief/chieftainess; Rohe: boundary, territory; Rongoā: remedy, medicine; Tamariki: children; Tāngata whenua: people born of the land; Taniwha: powerful creature; Taonga: treasure, anything prized; Te Ao Māori: the Māori world; Te Komiti Rakahau ki Kāi Tahu: Kāi Tahu Research Consultation Committee; Te Kore: The Void, realm of potential being; Te reo Māori: the Māori language; Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840: the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi; forms the foundation of the contractual relationship between two internationally recognised sovereign nations, Māori, as tāngata whenua (people of the land), and the British Crown; Tika: what is right/good for any particular situation; Tikanga Māori: customary system of values and practices developed over time; Tūpuna: ancestors; Ūkaipō: the suckling of a child on their mother's breast at night, one's ancestral land; Utu: balance, reciprocity; Waiata: song; Wairua: spirit; Wānanga: to meet, discuss, deliberate, consider; Whaikōrero: oratory; Whakairo: carving; Whakapapa: ancestry, familial relationships; Whānau: to be born, extended family, family group; Whanaunga: relative, relation; Whenua: placenta, ground, land.

KEYWORDS:

• Māori
• mokopuna
• children
• young people
• rights
• participation
• wellbeing

Acknowledgements

Our deepest gratitude and thanks to ngā mokopuna who graciously shared their time and knowledge with us. This study would not have been possible without their generous contribution.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Health Research Council of New Zealand Clinical Research Fellowship; Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-Ō-Ngāpuhi Education Scholarship; Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Doctoral Bridging Grant].