Emerging Māori health researcher Jodi Porter (Ngai Tai, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Porou) has developed an iwi-specific framework to help gauge the wellbeing of one of her iwi, Ngai Tai in Tōrere as part of a 2010 HRC Ngā Kanohi Kitea Community Grant*. She’s now about to explore how this framework can be applied by Ngai Tai and Whakatōhea to measure progress towards improving iwi wellbeing.
Only a limited amount of work has been done to date to understand what ‘wellbeing’ means to iwi and how this can be measured. Within the health sector, Miss Porter explains that the focus has largely been on measuring Māori health from a national and government perspective, which can be extremely different from the priorities and aspirations of iwi.
“It’s important that we find alignment at some level with what the government are doing and with what iwi want to achieve. We all want to be well and have strong families and communities, but there are a lot of dimensions to iwi wellbeing,” says Miss Porter.
For Miss Porter’s Ngā Kanohi Kitea research, which formed part of her master’s degree in public health at Massey University, she set out to identify what constitutes wellbeing from an iwi perspective, and more specifically, a uniquely Ngai Tai perspective. She held marae-based wānanga, focusing on the views of different generations of Ngai Tai – rangatahi, pakeke and kaumātua – and interviewed key members of the local and wider Māori community, such as iwi leaders, Māori health professionals and academics.
“People didn’t look at their own physical health in terms of iwi wellbeing; at an iwi level, that didn’t matter – it’s more about how we are functioning as a large collective in areas that matter to us, such as our iwi identity.”
As a result of the research, the term ‘iwi vitality’ was devised to best capture iwi aspirations for wellbeing that were identified in the research.
“Central to the concept of iwi vitality is the notion that iwi are able to actively determine what matters to them from a local perspective, and how best to monitor progress towards the achievement of iwi vitality.”
Miss Porter found that iwi vitality is both ecologically localised and context specific, and is best expressed through the following seven “iwi vitality outcomes”:
- Secure iwi identity
- Intergenerational sustainability
- Collective cohesion
- Environmental stewardship
- Self-determination
- Economic prosperity
- Whānau health and wellbeing
Miss Porter says she and her fellow researchers tried to gather every piece of relevant information that was Ngai Tai specific and supported what they were trying to measure.
“For a lot of iwi, we lack the capacity and capability to monitor how we’re progressing in order to make informed decisions and plan strategically. It’s really difficult to have access to iwi-specific information, and this affects your ability to effectively plan for the future. What we must do, however, is use the data that we do have access to, and be resourceful with how we use that to improve our collective wellbeing.”
In May this year Miss Porter organised a conference to celebrate Ngai Tai research capacity and capability. There, she presented the results from her research, while also providing a platform for other Ngai Tai researchers to profile their work.
“We are only a small iwi; the majority – more than 87 per cent – live away, so it’s really important to have opportunities to call people home. It was a chance for Ngai Tai researchers to share, contribute, celebrate and inspire the development and advancement of Ngai Tai both now and in the future. Our future relies heavily on our leadership, therefore we must invest in our people and instil in them the passion and pride of what it is to be Ngai Tai.”
Miss Porter, who has received a 2012 HRC Māori Health Research PhD Scholarship to build on her study, says the results affirm what’s important and relevant to Ngai Tai, and asserts that concepts like tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) are fundamental to Ngai Tai moving forward. As part of her PhD, Miss Porter will determine how best to use the framework across different iwi and within iwi entities, like schools, marae and land trusts. The idea being that everyone within the iwi can feed into a shared vision and can work together towards realising collective iwi vitality outcomes.
“I hope that this research makes a difference; that it gets used by our iwi authority and contributes to transformational change in how we operate. Unfortunately, as a direct result of colonisation, we still tend to operate in silos; it’s about how at an iwi level we can strengthen our connections and focus our collective efforts for the betterment of our people.”
“I love what I do, and I hope to keep contributing to my iwi in positive ways that will ensure a legacy for future generations.”
*Porter, J. Iwi Vitality: The conceptualisation and measurement of wellbeing for iwi and Māori communities (2012). Paper presented at the Hui Whakapiripiri, Ellerslie, Auckland.
Iwi Vitality: The conceptualisation and measurement of wellbeing for iwi and Maori communities (PDF 1.76mb)