Ka kata ngā pūriri: the transformative impact of a whānau-led (re)connection wānanga on intergenerational wellbeing

Abstract

This article explores a whānau-led pepeha (recitation of ancestral affiliations) wānanga (knowledge sharing forum) held in the rohe (region) of Ngā Hapū o Te Ahuahu in Te Tai Tokerau, Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa). Grounded in a kaupapa Māori paradigm, the wānanga created a culturally safe and relational space for whānau (extended family) to (re)connect with their ancestral whenua (land) and with each other through experiential learning, storytelling, and intergenerational engagement. This land-based whānau-centred approach supported processes of identity restoration, cultural revitalisation, and intergenerational wellbeing. Framed as a collective haerenga (journey), the findings illustrate how tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) and mana motuhake (autonomy) can be enacted through grassroots initiatives. This research contributes to Indigenous scholarship on decolonisation and transformation by showing how whānau-led practices can reclaim ancestral knowledge systems and foster Indigenous futures grounded in whakapapa (genealogy) and place.

Keywords

cultural revitalisation Indigenous futures kaupapa Māori land-based learning tino rangatiratanga whānau-led initiatives

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