A ‘He Awa Whiria’ approach: integrating Māori knowledge and cultural values into audiological research and hearing health services

Abstract

ABSTRACT Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori, are often excluded and underserved by hearing health services that often neglect their cultural values and needs. In response to this, we aimed to advance the delivery of culturally appropriate services with Māori clients through the validation of a te reo Māori hearing screening test. A He Awa Whiria: Braided rivers framework was applied to weave Māori knowledge and cultural values into this audiological research and to support the collaboration of Māori and non-Māori researchers through a Kaupapa Māori approach stream. While the validation of the screening test was interrupted due to COVID-19, we discuss in detail the approach stream used in this study. Together the approach and validation streams form the foundation of an ongoing research initiative aimed at addressing Western biomedical approach limitations, expanding the hearing health sector's knowledge base to deliver culturally responsive care, and in a small way contributing to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Glossary of Māori words: Ahitereiria ki te Hauāuru: Western Australia; atua: ancestor with continuing influence; Aotearoa: North Island of New Zealand - now used as the Māori word for New Zealand; hapū: sub-tribal, clans, wider whānau descent or political units; hongi: traditional Māori greeting; He Awa Whiria: braided rivers approach; hui: meeting; ia: Te reo Māori pronoun for everyone; iwi: tribe; kai: food; Kai Tahu/Ngai Tahu: tribal group of the South Island; kanohi kitea: the seen face; kanohi ki te kanohi: face-to-face; karakia: incantation, chant, thought, or prayer; kaumātua: Māori elder/s; kaupapa: topic, policy, matter of discussion; Kaupapa Māori: a philosophical approach using Māori knowledge and values; kete: woven basket/s; Kohanga Reo: Māori language preschool; kōrero: narratives and prose; koringo-tangi-roa: the wooden flute or trumpet of Ngongo; kūmara: wweet potato; Kura Kaupapa: Māori language immersion schools; kupu: word, vocabulary; manaakitanga: the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others; Māori: Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand; marae: a significant Māori community complex of buildings; mātauranga Māori: Indigenous Māori knowledge; Ngā Rauru: an iwi of Taranaki; Ngāpuhi: a tribal group situated in the top of the North Island; Ngāti Hau: people of the Whanganui River; Ngāti Porou: a tribal group of the East Coast of the North Island; Ngāti Whātua: tribal group between the Hokianga Harbour and Tāmaki; Ōtautahi: traditional name known now as Christchurch; Pākehā: New Zealander with European descent, non-Māori; Papatūānuku: Earth mother; pihoi: inattentively deaf; pūwharawhara: deaf; Rakinui/Ranginui: Sky father; Rehua: a deaf atua associated with kindness, a child of Pāpātuanuku and Rakinui; tāhorehore: deaf as if the ears were cropped; Takaroa/Tangaroa: an atua of the sea; Taki-ao-terangi: daughter of Rehua; Tāmaki: Auckland; Tāne-tūturi: a deaf child of Ranginui and Papatūānuku; Tangata Tiriti: people of Te Tiriti, referring to all non-Māori citizens and residents of Aotearoa; tangata whenua: people of the land, Indigenous peoples, local people, hosts; taonga: treasure of social or cultural value; tapu: sacred, spiritual restriction containing a strong imposition of rules and prohibitions; taringa kōhatu: deaf, stubborn; taringa muhu kai: ear listening for food - a person whose only concern is when food is served; taringa puta iti: little ear orifice, inattentive; taringa turi: deaf; teina: young, less skilled learner; te Ao Māori: the Māori world; te reo Māori (te reo): the Māori language, Indigenous language of Aotearoa; Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Signed in 1840 this is the Māori language version of an agreement between two internationally recognised sovereign nations, Māori, as tāngata whenua, and the British Crown; Te Waipounamu: the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand; Te Whakamātautau Whakarongo o Aotearoa: Te Reo Māori Digit Triplet Test, TRMDTT; tikanga Māori: Māori customs, procedures, protocols, practices, system of values, the Māori way; tīpuna: ancestors; tohunga: priest, practitioner, expert; tuakana: mentors; turi: deaf; turikere: deafened; waiata: songs and chants; wairuatanga: spiritual well-being; Waitaha: traditional name for region known as Canterbury; wānanga: to meet and discuss, Māori learning, educational forum; whakamā: shame, embarrassment, guilt; whakapapa: To place in layers, to recite genealogies, lineage; whakarongo: an intransitive verb that can mean to listen but may also be used to ready the senses such as to smell, touch or feel; whakataukī: proverb, significant saying; whakawhanaungatanga: an indigenous process of creating relational connection; whānau: immediate and extended family and friends.