The research in this thesis was undertaken in attempt to answer two questions. The first is, is the role of wānanga and mātauranga Māori a realistic medium to nurture urban Māori whānau to instigate health and well-being transformation for the collective and whānau members individually? And following that, are present health and wellbeing criteria, definitions and strategies actually effective for Urban
Māori whānau? In terms of question one and utilizing the results from Chapter
Six it would appear that in undertaking whānau wānanga learning was able to occur in an environment that was supportive due to the ability to learn together as a whānau. Whānau participants each embraced the importance that whānau wānanga hold, and the possibilities that could arise from them.
Participant Two: Aw that’s the best, that lets everyone know who you are, where you come from… it’s important for those ones who are not sure, so they know where they come from and they can pass it on... And even the rangatahi can take that up as well… gives them somewhere... You know...even when they’re little kids they’ll remember those days aye, they’ll remember it. It could go further… it could turn into something there...
Health and well-being, in light of this thesis, is measured as outlined through the literature discussed in Chapter Four (Walker. 1990; Marsden, 2003; Te Aho, 2011). Identified is the importance of a connection to one’s historical and cultural roots as a means to obtain a balanced state of health and well-being. Therefore, in terms of whether wānanga is a viable means to achieve this for my whānau, the outcomes found in Chapter Six would suggest that it is. Each whānau participant felt positive about the experience and appreciated coming together as a whānau to learn about ourselves. The importance of why we should learn about who we are is reflected by the pathways, decisions and life choices that my whānau participants have shared within this mahi.
Participant Three: all of those experiences that I’ve just mentioned has helped me sorta shape this is a meaningful part of my life, and I want it to a meaningful part of my wife and whānau… the life and direction of my whānau and because it all comes down to self-identity, ahh self-worth,
The second question this thesis attempted to answer was, are present health and
wellbeing criteria, definitions and strategies actually effective for Urban Māori whānau? Chapter Five gives a brief overview of the Māori health policy on a
national, regional and iwi/local level (Ministry of Health, 2014; Waikato District Health Board, 2016; Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Inc., 2015). These overviews assist with providing the values underpinning these strategies to determine their viability with Māori whānau.
To gage the usefulness of the national, regional and iwi strategies for my whānau I turn to the visions whānau members hold and how they might align with the values sustaining these Māori health approaches. The findings suggest that on a large level these approaches are viable for my whānau and the visions that they hold for our whānau as a collective. The national Māori health policy acknowledges the Māori worldview when determining what Māori health and wellbeing looks like for Māori. In their ability to recognize this, whānau will be able to action a collective vision.
Participant Three: …my dream is to see my whānau as a bilingual, bi cultural…positive citizens of the world… and you can do that in two worlds… at the moment I think we aren’t in either… and that’s sad because um I know we can have a very serious impact in generations to come…
Strategies that can appreciate the challenges Māori whānau face today and contribute with practical solutions to assisting them are ultimately beneficial for my whānau. We share much of the same challenges as other Māori whānau in that navigation of our world is limited by the basic task of surviving day to day. In this process we are unable to gain a sense of a bigger picture and how we might begin to do things in different ways.
The Waikato District Health Board provides programs that target problematic areas for Māori such as smokefree programs, parenting strategies, and health and nutrition education. Some of these areas have been identified by whānau members as capacities that need strengthening so that when we think about optimal health and well-being for ourselves and our whānau, we know that the resources we need
are around us. What will be required is to cultivate an appreciation for learning and engaging with opportunities on offer.
Participant Four: …you know drinking doesn’t fit with me in this whānau, it’s like tearing our whānau apart… you know that waipiro… it’s like sometimes... because you just get so caught up with it and then you think that’s the answer… and it’s not… I think it stops us and not makes us want to advance... cause like when I stopped drinking… our kids were able to breath and rise… and that’s what needs to happen with our whānau
The iwi vision aligns with our whānau vision in terms of building and nurturing collective capacity by focusing on key areas such as our local history, an appreciation for te reo Māori and tikanga Māori, and education. Once again, we see this emphasis on learning and enhancing our ability to learn. Learning of the ways of our tūpuna yet guided into the future inspired by the collective for the collective by creating opportunities that tune into developing our best selves with the proper resources and visions to enable this growth to take root with a chance of improved health and wellbeing for our whānau.
Participant One: Well hopefully their not gonna be like our generations... Well you know like, we were bought up harder… we had to fight for what we wanted… And take it… that’s how we were.
Participant Two: ahh I want them to have a good shot at that, um and that they develop their best parts and go with it… and I push them out that way, keep them going that way