RESUMO
Whanau (Maori understandings of family) are comprised of unique and vital relationships that support and scaffold rangatahi (youth) wellbeing, yet are often reduced to nuclear family structures within individualised notions of wellbeing. While rangatahi contend with racialised discourses in a colonial socio-cultural context, their whanau can be an important site for mitigating these challenges, supporting rangatahi agency and wellbeing. This article explores how whanau practices inform rangatahi wellbeing, drawing upon photo-projects and interviews with 51 rangatahi and their whanau. Interviews were thematically analysed, informing four themes that drew on Maori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa) concepts and whakatauki: te haerenga whakamua, kotahitanga, he toa takitini and tatai hono. These themes speak to the significance of vitalising relationships between rangatahi, their whanau and beyond. We outline a strengths-based activity with rangatahi and their whanau, identifying and drawing from the delightful array of whanau relationships, qualities and characteristics that may be likened to a 'whanau chocolate box' for rangatahi to derive influence, systems of support and inspiration for future identities and inspiration.
RESUMO
Research indicates that experiences in health and social services vary depending on identity. For Indigenous groups, identity and affiliation is complex. This paper explores ethnicity and knowledge of tribal (iwi) affiliations for Maori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand), and links this to health and social service outcomes in administrative data, the national Census, and Maori social survey data. While many initiatives have sought to connect Maori to iwi - where such knowledge has been severed by colonization - we find surprisingly few differences in data between those who named tribal affiliations and those who did not, across sole- and mixed-Maori ethnicity groups. Those who did not name an iwi were less likely to live in overcrowded homes, but were less likely to own that home, and more likely to be a smoker. Unsurprisingly, those who did not name tribal affiliations were less likely to find Maori culture as important, although many still did. These groups also had slightly less contact with social networks and support, plus felt lonelier. The results also point to sole-ethnic identification as Maori as a key marker of experiences of inequity and suggest that connections to tribal affiliations are more complicated than a binary of "connected" or "disconnected". However, in some indicator areas, affiliation differences should be followed up with future work. We argue these results give further weight to the need for good quality data and indicators designed with Maori populations in mind to measure and monitor inequity.
