Critical time for Māori: Iwi-owned research centre marks milestone

Whakauae Research director Dr Amohia Boulton reaffirmed a commitment to health equity and wellbeing for Māori. Photo / Moana Ellis

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 [programme] 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 (traditional Māori medicine), 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 [Māori knowledge], 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.”

Founding director of Whakauae Research, Dr Heather Gifford. Photo / Moana Ellis

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 under way.

“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.

Whakauae Research board chairman, Anthony Thompson. Photo / Moana Ellis

“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