Critical Time For Māori: Iwi-owned Research Centre Marks Milestone

The country’s only iwi-owned health research centre
says it will continue work to inform national discussion,
thinking and transformation at a critical time for
Māori.

Whakauae Research Services is the only health
research centre mandated and directly owned by an iwi
entity, Rangitīkei iwi Ngāti Hauiti.

The centre is
marking two decades of kaupapa Māori research aimed at
supporting iwi development and improving Māori health
outcomes.

It celebrated its 20th anniversary last week
with a gathering of whānau, hapū, iwi, key stakeholders
and researchers from across Aotearoa at Rātā War Memorial
Community Hall in the tiny rural settlement of Rātā, 10km
south of Hunterville.

“This milestone is a testament
to the strength, resilience, and vision of our people,”
Whakauae Research director Dr Amohia Boulton
said.

“It’s an emotional day – because this
kaupapa is important.

“It’s important that we
continue to support our people in their aspirations for what
they want and how they can thrive, especially at this time
when Māori feel like we’re being assailed from every
angle.”

Boulton said it was important to celebrate
the research and the researchers who provided evidence to
support change to health systems and social
services.

“We also reaffirm our commitment to a
future where health equity and wellbeing for Māori remain
at the heart of our work,” Boulton said.

Whakauae
Research was established in 2005 as an iwi research and
development unit. Under the umbrella of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti
Hauiti, it is tasked with working to meet the research needs
of iwi and other key partners.

The centre is based in
Whanganui and governed by a rūnanga-appointed Board of
Directors, who are iwi members or experts in Māori
research.

It undertakes a range of health, Māori
health and social services research, including in the fields
of rongoā, whānau ora, public policy and public
health.

Boulton joined Whakauae Research 17 years ago
and has been its director since 2016. She said having Ngāti
Hauiti behind and alongside it has been critical to the
centre’s impact.

“They’ve always valued
education. They’ve got their specialists in mātauranga,
they’re generous with their information and they’re
ready to use that knowledge and education to drive change,
whether it be from te ao Māori or from the western
world.

“They’ve got our back, they see the value
of the work we do, and they trust us to get on and do the
work.”

But she said Whakauae Research would not
exist without the vision and leadership of founding director
Dr Heather Gifford.

“She’s always been visionary.
It was a wild thing for Heather to take a research centre
out to the iwi, but she did it,” Boulton
said.

Gifford told Local Democracy Reporting she was
striving for her own place and identity in the world when
she turned to her iwi for support to build a research unit
that could act as a vehicle for transformation.

“How
do we best use research? It can’t be stuffy old documents
sitting on a shelf. It has to be something that actions
change,” Gifford said.

“I really believed that
whānau, hapū, iwi are the place where you make change for
Māori.

“For me, Pae Ora(healthy futures)-based
research should underpin all the decisions we make as
iwi.”

Gifford said Whakauae Research would hold true
to its whakapapa and long-term focus.

“Let’s use
good information and evidence to drive our policies, our
strategies and the decisions we make, and make a difference
in peoples’ lives.”

Board chair Anthony Thompson
told the gathering that the iwi mission to build capacity
for high-quality Māori research was well
underway.

“This milestone isn’t just about the
passing of time. Over the past two decades, Whakauae has
evolved into a leading Māori research organisation that
continues to uphold the mana of our people, our knowledge
systems and the communities that we serve.”

Thompson
said the centre’s main research focus over the past 20
years had been public and Māori health but this would
broaden to include environmental research.

“If the
environment is healthy, the people will be healthy,”
Thompson said.

“The vision for the next 20 years is
to delve more into a holistic view of health. That aligns
with what the iwi sees in its long-term
planning.

“It will be a big shift and take a little
while for us to plant our feet solidly in that new
environment sector. But I see Whakauae bringing its intent
to lead cutting-edge research into that new
space.”

Guests and fellow researchers acknowledged
Whakauae’s legacy and impact, among them Professor Graham
Le Gros of Malaghan Institute.

“Yours is a significant
achievement that not many independent research organisations
ever get to, anywhere in the world,” Le Gros
said.

“Despite the challenges of an often brutal and
difficult funding environment, you have stayed true to your
core purpose and produced an outstanding legacy of health
impacts – one that holds major relevance not only for your
own community but also for Aotearoa New Zealand and the
global stage.”

LDR is local body journalism
co-funded by RNZ and NZ On
Air

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