Cover design of Te Kura Nui O Waipareira
A new journal that aims to share knowledge created by those working within Whānau Ora provision has been launched by the urban Māori authority Te Whānau O Waipareira.
Co-edited by Professor Meihana Durie, head of Massey University’s Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, the first issue of Te Kura Nui O Waipareira showcases a range of Māori health and social service approaches and research.
Waipareira CEO John Tamihere said the Journal was born from frustrations that Māori providers and community researchers have felt in regards to the established pathways for publishing and circulating new Māori knowledge.
“The Journal intends to fill a gap in what we currently know about how Whānau Ora service provision happens ‘on the ground’: the new initiatives, strategies, and approaches to the theory and practice of achieving the highest aspirations of all Māori whānau,” John said.
This first issue features a range of diverse voices with articles reflecting provider practice, case studies from the frontline, and ‘by Māori, for Māori’ research within the Whānau Ora sphere.
“Our community has traditionally been excluded from telling their stories and sharing what they know – the ‘ivory towers’ of academia and government have been able to ring-fence the way in which new, indigenous knowledge has been created and shared,” John said.
“What this Journal offers is an opportunity for our community to share their knowledge outside of those constraints, and to do so in an inclusive, rather than exclusive, way.”
Professor Durie, sees the Journal as a way of initiating in-depth conversations across the wider Māori community around some key themes in research and practice undertaken within the urban Māori context.
“The Journal aims to reflect and give voice to whānau experiences and aspirations within Te Whānau o Waipareira and provides a means of accountability back to whānau. The title Te Kura Nui o Waipareira itself is the idea of “kura” or precious cargo reaching land,” he said.
The release of the Journal also draws on the time of the winter Matariki constellation and Māori New Year, which Professor Durie describes as “signaling a starting point for navigating and recording the experiences of whānau, providers and researchers. It fittingly explores the concept of connecting whānau and communities, creating links and building relationships.”
Te Kura Nui o Waipareira is an open access, internet-based journal series that will be produced annually.