Abstract
While Koko (grandfather) was driving a vehicle for the Hastings hospital psychiatric unit, he realized that the Māori patients he came in contact with were distrusting and skeptical of the healthcare system. He engaged with them often and would help them address their fears and shame around their mental health problems (Denton, E. 2017). This topic is particularly important for our Indigenous populations in Aotearoa, who have been heavily colonized and continue to be to this day. Historically and contemporarily speaking, a Western approach to managing health inequities in Aotearoa has proven not to be the catalyst for improving health for our whānau, as it is in fact the system that positioned Māori in poor health to begin with. Unfortunately, State Education has swindled this understanding for Māori as the Crown had drafted legislation to disintegrate whakapapa for several decades. That withstanding, I will illustrate how knowledge of your ancestry pathway through the lens of Te Kore (The Unknown), Te Pō (The Darkness) and Te Ao Mārama (The World of Light) can help Indigenous Aotearoa ruminate change and better health outcomes for future generations and most importantly, for themselves.
The purpose of this thesis is to assess Māori Health struggles in contemporary Aotearoa. It will highlight, through my own personal journey with trauma, how genealogical research can be used to find solutions to the generational cycles that continue to affect our Indigenous whānau (family) all around the country. Moreover, how this resource can be used to formulate a health model to share these solutions in a comprehensible and affixing manner. Family legacies and generational haunting can often be provoked through family secrets and other forms of silencing (Schwab, G. 2010). Contemporarily speaking what many families, especially younger generations encounter is a lack of support or role models in their households. This originates from a history of Māori health struggles relating to colonization. Improvements in Māori mental health require broad approaches which are consistent with Māori aspirations and coordinated across the range of sectoral and disciplinary interests. Active Māori participation by all tangata whenua in the process and the retention of a cultural base will be critical if the current trends of colonization are to be remedied (Durie, M. 1999). Historically speaking, the system has not favoured Māori interests and thus, this research report encapsulates the importance of whakapapa in research and in healing. How the self-accountability and determination gained from this research can help Māori overturn the system way of thinking and break generational cycles of poor health outcomes. In many ways, the void from darkness into light symbolizes the questions many Māori have about themselves. Who am I? Where do I come from?