On 21 June 2023 Te Whānau o Waipareira, in association with Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Nōku te Ao, held a symposium for researchers interested in better understanding the application of Kaupapa Māori research ethics.

Tom Devine (Master of Public Health, Columbia 2023) and researchers at Whakauae have been named this year's recipients of the Jack Elinson Award by Columbia University, New York City.

Ground breaking cancer research aimed at improving health outcomes for Māori communities has received a major boost with the latest funding award from Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa (the Cancer Society of New Zealand) and Hei Āhuru Mōwai (Māori Cancer Research Leadership Aotearoa).

Trent Dallas has joined the Whakauae team through the Research scholarship programme.

Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Tararua te maunga
Ko Ōhau te awa
Ko Tukorehe te hapū
Ko Ngāti Tukorehe te iwi
Ko Trent Dallas tōku ingoa

This Whakauae studentship is intended to assist a tertiary student to both further their education and develop their research skills. It will be of interest to those seeking ‘hands on' research experience working alongside senior Māori health researchers for three months over the winter of 2023.

The Tū Mai Rongoā symposium held in June 2022 by Whakauae Research in partnership with Te Kāhui Rongoā, ACC, Manatū Hauora Ministry of Health and Te Aka Whai Ora, was an important time for whānau, healers, medical practitioners and others from the community to come together to kōrero about the importance of Rongoā in Aotearoa.

The New Zealand Government is currently proposing the introduction of a Therapeutic Products Bill (TPB). In this context Therapeutic Products are meant to encompass medicines, medical devices, natural health products, and pharmaceutical ingredients.

Kiri Parata, Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāi Tahu, has supported Whakauae as a contractor on a number of research and evaluation projects for 15 years, and is currently employed as the Programme Manager for the HRC-funded, Kia Puāwai five year research programme.

Whakauae researcher Dr Amohia Boulton is part of a team who have issued a powerful challenge for revolutionary and radical Kaupapa Māori-led change across the health system.

My studentship with Whakauae Research Services required the completion of a literature review, which included an annotated bibliography, thematic analysis, and a written final report of the findings in relation to the research question.

After a number of years talking about the possibility and usefulness of holding our own Writing Retreats, we have finally made the dream come true!

For tertiary students interested in getting some real research experience and working with senior Māori health researchers over the coming 2022-2023 summer, our Summer Studentship is intended to provide experience and support for Māori students wanting to learn new skills and gain experience in game-changing research.

Whakauae sends their congratulations to Stacey Ruru (Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Raukawa) who was awarded a Māori and Psychology Research Unit (MPRU) Postgraduate scholarship for her Ph.D. research at Waikato University. 

In October 2022, Whakauae researchers and evaluators participated in the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association (ANZEA) Conference 2022 at Te Papa in Wellington. The theme of the conference was Ka mua, Ka muri: Looking back to move forward. For many, it was the first conference they had attended kanohi ki te kanohi since Covid locked us down.

October was a month for celebration as the full Kia Puāwai Programme Team came together for an amazing two days of work with our respective project teams and first get together as a full team.

During the recent Australian Evaluation Society Conference, Dr Amohia Boulton was made a Fellow of the Society, together with long-time friend and colleague Sharon Clarke.

Tēnā koutou katoa
Ko Pirongia te maunga
Ko Waipa te awa
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Kahungunu me Waikato Tainui ngā iwi
Ko Ngāti Parewaeono te hapū
Ko Te Keeti te marae
Nō Kirikirioa au
Ko Sophia Newton tōku ingoa

Rātā Marae Committee members joined other supporters, on 24 August 2022, for the launch of He Waka Eke Noa. This Health Research Council (HRC) funded research project is a partnership between Whakauae Research and Gonville Health.

E ngā rangatira o te whare o Whakauae, ānei rā āku mihi ki a koutou i riro te karahipi “Kia Rite 2022” ki ahau i tēnei tau. I've learnt many new skills and have developed a deeper understanding and interest for Kaupapa Māori Research during my time here.

Tēnā koutou,

Whītiki mai a Tamanui-te-rā ki te taumata o ōku tīpuna, ki tihi o ngā Pae maunga o Tararua. Ka rere iho ko te awa o Hokio, ka tau ki tāku tūrangawaewae ki Kohuturoa ki Kawiu hoki, ā, te kāinga o te pekanga nui a Tara. E kai kanohi ana i ngā pūhihi e kānapanapa ana i ngā tai o puna, he puna ora, he puna marino, ā, ko Punahau te roto. Ka mihi t?nei mokopuna o Ngāti Pariri, o Muaūpoko ki a koutou.

Ko Danielle Leah Valmai Oriwa Sword tōku ingoa.

He rangi tā matawhāiti, he rangi tā matawhānui.

A person with narrow vision has a restricted horizon; a person with wide vision has plentiful opportunities

Whakauae Research is looking for applicants for a Masters/PhD internship. This position offers a student the opportunity to be involved in cutting-edge Māori research, while being paid to complete a course of study at Masters or PhD level.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua

Looking back in order to move forward

In order to look forward into the future we must remember and reflect on what has occurred in the past. I feel so privileged to have gained a studentship at Whakauae.

In this release of the third paper in Te Pūtake - Whakauae Raro Occasional Paper Series – an online space to explore Māori aspirations, challenges and important new issues – the focus is on exploring the meaning of Rongoā Māori (traditional Māori healing).

In 2022 Emerald Publishing is focusing on Indigenous communities, commissioning content on issues such as stewardship, health and wellbeing, diversifying the curriculum, and diversity within the boardroom. Whakauae Research features in this months indigenous voices issue, with an article and video.

For tertiary students interested in getting some real research experience and working with senior Māori health researchers for three months during the 2022 winter, our studentship is intended to assist a student in the development of their research skills.

Whakauae Research are getting ready to host the Tū Mai Rongoā Māori Online Symposium. A significant event for anyone interested in Rongoā Māori, the symposium is being live-streamed on Wednesday the 29th of June 2022, and is free to attend (see registration link below).

The critical role that Rongoā Māori can play in Aotearoa's health and disability sector will be addressed at a symposium this month, representing a pivotal collaboration between Māoridom and Crown health agencies to improve health equity.

Ngāti Hauiti-owned Whakauae Research Services has been named as a recipient of major funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) in recognition of the pioneering work they have undertaken to support health equity for Māori.

By Grace Irwin

The Whakauae staff were on hand to help welcome Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little, into the rohe pōtae (territory) of Ngāti Hauiti and Mōkai Pātea-nui-tonu.  The pōwhiri (formal welcome) for the Minister, along with the Chief Crown Negotiator, Glenn Webb, was held at the Rātā Marae on the 8th of March.

The 29th of October 2021 will be remembered as a significant date for the Whakauae team as we farewelled our founding Director and colleague Dr Heather Gifford who has moved on to the next phase of her life of semi-retirement. It is with deep aroha that we recognise and acknowledge Heather's role with Whakauae Research.

We are pleased to welcome Grace Irwin, who has joined the Whakauae research team for a student summer scholarship 2021-2022.

Today we release the second paper in Te Pūtake - Whakauae Raro, Whakauae's Occasional Paper Series - an online space to explore the aspirations, challenges and important new issues arising for Māori.

MAI WAITAPU KI RUNGA TE POU KI TE TONGA
KI WAIHŌHONU TE POU KI TE RAKI
E PIKI AKE KI TE TAUMATA O RUAHINE
WHAKAWHITI ATU KI TE TAUMATA O TE WHAKAUAE A TAMATEA PŌKAI WHENUA
KO NGĀ TAMA TOKOTORU KAHUNGUNU, RUAEHU ME TAMAKŌPIRI MŌKAI PĀTEA E NGUNGURU NEI

Join Dr Amohia Boulton and Dr Heather Gifford from Whakauae Research in collaboration with Dr Christina E. Oré from Seven Directions Centre for Indigenous Public Health, and Raquel Aviles from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe for a Gathering Grounds webinar to discuss the meaning and practice of community in Indigenous public health.

Hauora Māori researcher Dr Amohia Boulton leads with a vision and practice that is unapologetically Māori – and she has been rewarded for her mahi with one of the country's top health research awards.

Kiri Parata, a PhD candidate with Te Pūtahi a Toi, Massey University is feeling humbled to have received a career development award from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC).

“Having heard about previous recipients of this award, I'm still pinching myself that I have been considered alongside these academics.”

Translation, Uptake and Impact – A review of literature.

For tertiary students interested in getting some real research experience and working with senior Māori health researchers over the coming 2021-2022 summer, our internship programme is intended to provide experience and support for Māori students wanting to learn new skills and gain experience in game-changing research.

Our vision is that in Aotearoa all whānau can live in home spaces and places of their own choosing, and which provide all the features required for whānau to flourish. 

Piki ake ki te taumata o Meikura, kei Ruahine
Titiro atu ki te maunga tapu ko Aorangi
Heke iho ki te awa e rere ana nei, kei Rangitīkei
Ka paria ki uta ki Pātea
Ka paria ki uta ki Otara
Ka paria ki uta ki Ota ra
Ka tatū ki Te Hou Hou nei e
Ko Ngāti Hauiti e tū atu nei!

Whakauae Research Services are both humbled and excited to be awarded $5 million from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) for a five-year programme to build knowledge on what is needed for better health outcomes for Māori and therefore Aotearoa.

Whakauae Director Dr Amohia Boulton and Senior Researcher Dr Tanya Allport recently attended a five-day academic writing retreat, hosted by Dr Lynne Russell from Victoria University, and funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. The retreat was organised to support wahine Māori academics by providing a space for dedicated writing time and a conducive environment for furthering work on research projects.

Whakauae's Director, Dr  Amohia Boulton recently delivered a Keynote Address on Iwi/Māori responses to the Covid-19 pandemic at an on-line conference based in Taiwan. The conference audience members, which included mainly Indigenous health workers and activists, were keen to understand the various practices and strategies that Iwi/Māori - and health service providers - adopted during the pandemic, the challenges they faced, and the implications for Māori self-determination.

Aneta Cram (Ngāti Kahungunu) is the recipient of the Whakauae Research Services Ltd Scholarship for 2021.  Aneta, a Victoria University PhD student, has been awarded the scholarship on the basis of merit, academic quality, and research interest. 

The national Māori campaign for the COVID-19 vaccine, led by the Ministry of Health, is expected to go live today, the 12th of April 2021.  As a research organisation we are privy to a range of information about the COVID-19 vaccine, from our partners and collaborators as well as from official sources, immunologists and researchers in the field, and different advisory groups.

After many years of hard work, the Mōkai Pātea Waitangi Claims Trust mandate has been accepted by the Crown. 

In early March, Whakauae Research Services extended an invitation to Dr Billy van Uitregt to visit our offices. Billy is a lecturer at the School of Geography, Environmental and Earth Science, Victoria University and he has completed a PhD in Evolutionary Ecology in 2012, a Graduate Certificate in International Relations (2017) and more recently in 2020, a Masters of Indigenous Studies (Distinction).

A recently published paper from Whakauae Research revisits the key change messages of the seminal report Puao-Te-Ata-Tu; Realising the Promise of a New Day (Māori Perspective Advisory Committee, 1988).

The question of how to get the findings and significance of Māori research across via the media was at the core of a two-day “Media Savvy” workshop attended by Dr Amohia Boulton and Dr Tanya Allport from Whakauae Research.  Run by the Science Media Centre through Nga Pae O Māramatanga, and attended by a rōpū of Māori researchers from a range of diverse areas, the workshop focused on how Māori researchers can best communicate what are often complex messages to the media, with the aim of contributing key messages on issues that affect Māori lives.