Nutrition

Nutrition is obviously closely related to health and well-being.

A Focus on Māori Nutrition, a Ministry of Health publication, makes a number of points about nutrition among Māori.

Māori males and females consume a higher mean percentage of energy from total fat,
saturated fat and monounsaturated fat than non-Māori males and females.

Māori males and females are significantly less likely to take dietary supplements than Pākeha.

Māori are less likely than non-Māori to eat breakfast daily, choose reduced fat or trim
milk, trim fat off meat, remove the skin from chicken, and to never or rarely add salt to
food.

These trends impact on various nutrition-related health incomes.

These included increased rates of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes.

Next: Other indigenous groups

Suicide case study

Nicky Taiaroa Macpherson Stevens took his own life recently. An article in Te Karaka explores the issues surrounding his death and an appeal to improve services for young people.

His family has called for spiritually-based, Māori-focused treatment.

They feel that breaking the silence and shame associated with suicide, in particular the over-representation of Māori in suicide statistics, is one way they can honour their son.

Nicky's mother said: “I feel completely failed by the Kaupapa Māori community mental health service that we had, that turned out to be a shadow of a mainstream service. It was underfunded and didn’t work in a culturally appropriate way because of structures and not having people with the skills to do it.”

She says says she would like to see a mandated whānau-centred approach to mental healthcare, which includes the wider whānau.

Next up: Nutrition

Suicide prevention

A number of initiatives have been undertaken to prevent suicide among Māori youth, often on the iwi level.

Waka Houroa is an organisation dedicated to prevention of suicide among Māori and Pacifica young people.

It is intended to

• build the capacity and capability of Māori whānau, hapū, iwi, Pasifika families and communities, to prevent suicide and to respond safely and effectively when and if suicide occurs
• ensure that culturally relevant education and training are available to Māori whānau, hapū, iwi, Pacific families and communities that focus on building resilience and leadership
• build the evidence base of what works for Māori whānau, hapū, iwi, Pasifika families and communities to prevent suicide, through research carried out by, with and for these groups, and build the leadership for suicide prevention

Applying a Māori framework such as Te Whare Tapa Whā is important in implementing any prevention strategy.

Next up: Suicide case study

Suicide

Traditionally in Māori culture, suicide was associated with bereavement or shame; sometimes women would commit suicide after their husband died.

Until the 1970s the rate of suicide among Māori was relatively low. After this rates have continued to increase.

Until the 1980s there were higher rates of suicide among elders but after this time this trend began to reverse.

Now, the highest rates of suicide are among the 20-29 age group and rates in older age groups have decreased.

In 2008 the overall rate for Māori was 13.3 suicides per 100,000, compared with 10.6 for non-Māori.

About a quarter of Maori suicides occur in prison.

Information in this post is taken from Te Ara Enclopaedia.

Next post: Working to prevent suicide

Māui Pōmare

Sir Māui Wiremu Pita Naera Pōmare was born in 1875 or 1876.

He trained as a doctor in the US and returned to New Zealand in 1900.

He was the Member of Parliament for Western Māori and went on to become Minister of Health from 1923-26.

He was very concerned with the health of Maāori, particularly in the areas of housing and sanitation which were then major political issues.

However he was controversial in that he saw little need to preserve Māori cultural heritage and was involved in government actions to supress Māori culture.

He believed that Māori culture would ultimately merge with Pākehā culture, retaining the best aspects of both.

The day Saturday closest to the anniversary of Pomare's death on 27 June is celebrated as Māui Pōmare day at Owae Marae in Waitara, Taranaki.

Next: Suicide

Womens' health activism

Māori women have organised to improve their health and also to redefine what is meant by health.

The Māori Womens' Welfare League was set up in 1951 and had health as a major focus.

Women worked on improved immunization, family planning, tuberculosis and other issues.

The League also became involved in the provision of health services in the 1990s.

The Kohanga Reo movement began in 1982 with the creation of the first 'language nest.'

Kohnaga Reo serve to strengthen hapū and whānau bonds which help to maintain emotional and physical health.

Tipu Ora is a health organisation established in 1989 with a strong focus on whānau addressing family issues such as midwifery, teenage parents and new mothers.

In the 1990s and 2000s Māori have begun to establish their own health-provider organisations because current provision of health services were seen as ineffective.

This post is based on this article.

Next: Maui Pomare.

Activism

Changes that effect the health of Māori are not always driven from the top.

In fact, you could argue that improvements in the entire area of health are often due to grass roots activism.

Maori activism is a mechanism used to drive the improvement in Māori social and economic status.

Māori political activism has developed from a failure to see progress in the areas of land grievances, language and overall health status.

These essentially have been from the determination of Māori people to maintain their intrinsic cultural beliefs.

In the changing pattern of ill health for indigenous people European colonisation of the Pacific and the Americas after 1492 saw indigenous populations decimated by imported communicable diseases.

In the Pacific indigenous people experienced high mortality from imported infectious disease mainly when their land was taken and their economic base, food supply and social networks were disrupted.

Māori insist on political and economic justice through tino rangatiratanga  or transposed as Maori independence.

This section is taken largely from this research report.

Next: Women's health activism