Lay summary
Nō hea koe? Translated as “where are you from?” is a common question in Te Ao Māori. In the answer, one expresses their identity links to people, places, and Iwi. This answer is important for health and well-being: a strong cultural identity has been shown to buffer against the effects of racism and continued colonisation. However, tracing whakapapa can be fraught with difficulties, meaning that a segment of the Māori population may feel they fall in between mainstream social service providers and Kaupapa Māori or Iwi-based providers. This research seeks to explore differences between Māori in cultural connection, mainly focusing on those who do not know their Iwi, but also including other combinations of descent, ethnicity, and Iwi affiliation. Using the Statistics New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure, the research links identities to health and social service access use in order to provide profiles of different health/well-being needs within Māori.