the new māori and māori health

The New Māori and Māori Health

Professor Chris CunninghamResearch Centre for Māori Health & DevelopmentMassey University @ Wellington

Overview

Defining Māori is a non-trivial exercise Hauora, health, cultural identity – “M-

factor” The “New Māori” framework

Defining Māori

Race/ethnicity– I define you– You define you

Treaty relationship– Descent from a signatory

Cultural– Look, think and operate as Māori

Standards for Ethnicity

He Kainga Oranga

Māori respondents– Same questionnaire schedule– Same interviewers– Same environment

18% ethnic migration

Treaty of Waitangi

“the only thing that matters is that the Treaty exists”

Relationship NOT partnership Parties NOT partners Descent

Ethnicity

Phenomenon of ethnicity Categorisation for measurement

purposes

Inequalities

ACCEPTABLE

Male/female life expectancy

Older/younger people outcomes

UNACCEPTABLE

Income Education Geography Identity

– Sexual– Cultural– Ethnic

Te Hoe Nuku Roa – Best Outcomes

Established 1993 Some 500 households, 1500 individual

Māori Survey at 3 yearly intervals 80-90% retention rate

Māori identity indicators/qualities

Te reo Māori Marae Whakapapa Political identity Māori ethnicity Cultural identity Iwi Whānau

Value Participation Knowledge Expression Preference Knowledge/practice Knowledge/practice Contribution

Māori indicators and items

Te reo Māori

“Te Reo Māori is an important language for me”

Māori indicators and items

Marae

“I have a high level of comfort participating in activities at marae”

Māori indicators and items

Whakapapa

“I can recite more than three generations of my Māori whakapapa”

Māori indicators and items

Political identity

“The Māori electoral roll should continue as one way of recognising Māori rights”

“Māori development should be parallel to the development of NZ generally”

Māori indicators and items

Māori ethnic identity

“I prefer to identify only as Maori”

“I prefer to include Māori as one of my ethnic groups”

Māori indicators and items

Culture

“It is important for Māori children to feel confident about Māori culture”

“Māori and Pakeha are very alike”

Māori indicators and items

Iwi

“I responded positively to the Tuhono initiative”

“I know my iwi but they don’t know me very well”

Māori indicators and items

Whānau

“I interact with my whānau as frequently as possible”

“I prefer to associate mostly with Māori people”

Item Response Theory

Can reduce these items from 8 to 2-4 Can predict responses to other

questions

Indigenous

“being born in a place” older indigenous group versus younger

indigenous group Flora and fauna and people treated

differently Worldview

Indigenous Worldview

“All creation is spirit”

Western versus Eastern versus Indigenous

“Integral association with nature/land”

Hauora and health

MODELS– Whare Tapa Wha (M Durie)– Wheke (RR Pere)– Nga Pou Mana (RCSP)– Waiora (S Palmer)

Health Hauora

Diverse Māori Realities

Isolated

IntegratedConservative

Tibble Continuum

The New Maori

Pluralistic

Integrated

Isolated

Conservative

Summary

Defining Māori is a non-trivial exercise The Treaty exists / relationship / parties Hauora is not the Māori word for health Ethnicity is part of your identity – it is NOT

your identity Perfecting ethnicity question is a holy grail Māori identity : continuous measurable trait New Māori includes an increasingly

pluralistic group