‘Perceptions of Papakāinga: An examination of ‘home’ and how to cater services for Māori’ was a 12-month study undertaken by Whakauae Research in partnership with Wai Research to explore comparative Māori views of ‘home’ in the Rangitīkei and Tāmaki Makaurau.
Funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the research project was designed to address the current lack of evidence and knowledge concerning Māori perceptions, experiences, and realities of what is needed from policy and service design for Māori to not just have a house, but to ‘be at home’ where and how they choose. While ‘home’ has been explored within research as a multifaceted concept, little is known about the different elements of ‘home’ within Māori experience, or the diverse complexities that shape that experience.
The idea of being ‘safe and well at home’ has taken on an unprecedented importance during the rapidly developing Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. New Zealand’s COVID-19 response has centralised ‘home’ as the ‘safest place to be’, specifically during level 3 and 4 lock-down measures. Home is seen as a place of wellbeing, which contrasts to ‘away from home’ places as potential sites of infection and subsequent personal and public health impacts. However, the essence of what forms a place of wellbeing for Maori is not generally included or acknowledged in government discourses around ‘home’, and is therefore inadequately represented within polices, resourcing and services.
The findings from the Papakāinga project contribute to understanding the meanings of ‘home’ for three different generations of Māori living in different geographical locations, and how these meanings shape the perception of ‘being well at home’. The place and function of cultural elements that relate to ‘home’, such as ‘tūrangawaewae’, ‘papakāinga’ and ‘ahi kā’ were highlighted in relationship to identity, whakapapa, and hauora within the participants’ perceptions of ‘home’.
By investigating the views, attitudes, and perceptions of Māori community members in two distinct locations, the research has been able to identify that ‘home’ is more than a spatial notion, and that there are a range of holistically connected aspects that need to be considered if we are to deliver effective and sustainable solutions around Māori being ‘at home’. As Māori meanings of ‘home’ are adapting, developing, and changing, especially in the current COVID-19 context, the findings from this research contribute to the significant thinking that needs to influence future policy direction and highlight areas that require further investigation.
The first of a planned series of peer-reviewed journal papers was published in 2020 (Boulton, A., Nee, J., Allport, T. (2020) Haukāinga - A Review of Māori concepts of 'home'. Whakauae Research Services Ltd, Te Pūtake - Whakauae Raro Occasional Paper Series, Number 1, August 2020.) this can be viewed and downloaded here. A second is currently under review and a third in the final stages of preparation for submission. The findings of the Papakāinga project have also been presented at the 9th Biennial International Indigenous Research Conference 2020.
Furthermore, two dissemination videos featuring particpants’ kōrero of ‘home’ have been created with the help of funding from the Health Research Council. The video with of the Tāmaki Makaurau participants can be found at the Wai Research website here.
A video featuring the Rangitīkei participants is on this website and can be viewed here.
