Graduation of Te Whakauruora Graduates: Maori suicide prevention

Mihi ki a Ngati Hinekura, Ngati Pikiao, Iwi kainga, Te Rau Matatini.

I want to firstly acknowledge Te Ariki Morehu and Moehau Kutia, who have blessed our hui by being here, and in doing so, have brought a special dimension to the hui.

We might call that dimension kaumatuatanga.

Kaumatuatanga is encapsulated in the wisdom and the experience of those who guard and protect te reo Maori, nga tikanga and the precious tribal taonga known only to those who have been entrusted in such a role.  They are literally our cultural guardians, our advisors, the source of our enduring strength.

I remember a section in the book Nga Kahui Pou: launching Maori futures by Sir Professor Mason Durie, which linked together the vital role of kaumatua with other generations across our whanau.   

He said,
“While the numerical strength of the Maori people will depend on the vitality and healthy development of its largely youthful population, cultural strength and enrichment will continue to depend on the active participation of its relatively small older population”.

This inter-relationship; the complex set of connections that are made between young and old; between kaumatua and rangatahi; is crucial to the strength, dynamism and unique composition of whanau.   In whanau, no-one is alone; we must lean on each other to uplift us, to challenge us, to protect us and to nurture us in times of despair.

My hope, is that you will uphold a belief in the beauty and unique power of whanau as central to your own practices as graduates of the Te Whakauruora training programme.  

This then, is a very auspicious day.   It is a day when we lift our heads, we stand tall, and we unite in the wonder of whanau as our strongest possible source of support and protection against the devastation associated with suicide and suicide attempts.

I want to firstly acknowledge Kirsty Maxwell-Crawford for her initiative and vision as the Chief Executive of Te Rau Matatini.   The work of your team, in developing a training programme to implement Te Whakauruora – the Maori Suicide Prevention Resource – is the reason we are here today. 

I want to mihi to you all for the commitment you have made to providing solutions for a situation in which so many whanau struggle with questions that may never be resolved.

In the training associated with Te Whakauruora you have brought together the history, kaupapa and tikanga of universal approaches known to tangata whenua while also protecting the wisdom of whanau, hapu and iwi.  I believe this approach – the linking of local solutions within the breadth of Maori worldviews – will be extremely useful.

Tena koe Hakopa - it is good to be back here at Houmaitawhiti to be talking to such a significant take – and I thank Te Runanga o Ngati Pikiao for your lead in hosting this hui today.

As we travelled here today, I couldn’t help but think of this tupuna whare and how it originally stood at Maketu before being brought inland to the present site at Otaramarae Bay.   It was, if you like, the hunga wairua leading me on, encouraging me to learn that growth will only occur from change and adjustment.

In itself then, your tupuna whare stands as a powerful symbol of the types of challenges and obstacles so many of our people face throughout life.  It tells us that we can learn from change and disruption we have a strong and secure identity to ward off the pessimists.

At Houmaitawhiti we see the beautiful authenticity of the tribal face standing proud, while still being open to new influences; te Ao Marama.

When I think of my children and more recently my fabulous mokopuna and mokopuna tuarua, I believe my greatest role is to add, positively to the cultural resilience that they will inherit.  I see it as my responsibility to nurture in them a sense of our unique kaupapa tuku iho – within which we find contemporary solutions to age-old problems.

Central to these is he tangata, he tangata, he tangata – our all enduring respect for the value of people.

Kia Piki te Ora national hui expresses this same view through your emphasis on ‘whakamana tangat’a.

We know that we ‘whakamana tangata’ when we promote the health and wellbeing of Maori through the activities we pursue.

We know we ‘whakamana tangata’ when we work with all our people, in marae based wananga; in conference; in households.

And we know that we ‘whakamana tangata’ when we are in pursuit of true leadership in Maori suicide prevention.

There is no two ways around it –suicide is a major health and social issue in Aotearoa, leading to approximately 500 deaths a year. 

It has a devastating effect on whanau, hapu, iwi and Maori communities.

The reasons for suicidal attempts are inevitably complex and defy all understanding.  

But we do know that an accumulation of risk factors such as cultural alienation, institutional racism, and the influence of historical, social and political processes has been shown to provide us with insights about the negative effects on mental health and wellbeing.

In the face of such destruction of life, we know that access to Maori cultural resources – tohunga, koroua, kuia, te reo Maori, whenua, marae, tikanga, whakapapa – can all be called on to assist healing.

The pointless futility and despair of suicide has never been more apparent than in recent months in Kawerau.

Yesterday, we asked the Associate Minister of Health, Peter Dunne, some basic questions about accountability  for a comprehensive response to the community of  Whangarei.   He confirmed that there had been between nine and 12 suspected suicides in Kawerau in 2010 and 2011, and a further four attempted suicides.

Almost all of the suspected and attempted cases are of young people 14 to 18 years old, and they are predominantly Māori and male.

An email yesterday afternoon that responded to the cold brutality of these facts, seems to capture my feeling too:

Me whakamataara, me whakaoho ki te tangi o te ngakau mai e nga rangatahi tane – e mate whakamomori nei e hika ma.  Moumou tangata – moumou pukenga nui . 

They are words worth reiterating : Moumou tangata – moumou pukenga nui . 

It is a matter of national urgency that in the light of the appalling death  rates from suicides appearing in South Waikato that this group position itself to demonstrate its commitment to true leadership in Maori suicide prevention.

In short, we need your experience, your expertise, your support.

The profile of Kawerau includes many of the common risk factors – mental health issues; drug and alcohol use; relationship difficulties, higher unemployment, lower incomes and higher uptake of social services than comparative communities.  

Kawerau – for those who  are unsure – has a small population  just knocking  on 6000.   One can only imagine the enormous impact of such a massive loss of rangatahi amongst such a small community.

Given the scale of suicide amongst this community over the last 18 months, I was staggered that it was only very recently that the Core Clinical Committee was establshed.  

On that group, supposely, there is representation from Kia Piki o te Ora, and iwi groups such as Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūwharetoa ki Kawarau Hauora Trust, and Tūhoe Hauora Trust.

As recently as yesterday the Minister has confirmed that he will encourage the use of Te Whakauruora and has to asked officials to  follow up with in making this happen.  
It provides a unique opportunity for your organisation to give expresion to your goal to pursue true leadership in Maori suicide prevention.

I will leave the matter of Kawerau, therefore, in your very capable hands, but I cannot let this moment pass without sharing my profound disappointment at the considerable time it has taken to provide appropriate and specialist support to what must surely be a shell-shocked community.    I cannot help but wonder if there would have been so little attention accorded to such a tragic loss of life if these young people lived in Remuera or Ilam rather than Kawerau.

Leadership in Maori suicide prevention must challenge inequities and injustice; address systemic barriers and at the same time critically examine mainstream responsiveness to ensure  that every person, every whanau, that may be at risk is attended to.

It is, therefore, with considerable pride and pleasure that I acknowledge the people attending here today, and the sixteen graduates that come from within your midst. 

Together you represent a crowd of champions, that can help to assist whanau, hapu and iwi to build their capacity to respond to mental ill-health in ways that will lead directly to a reduction in suicide.

I want to also congratulate all of those involved in the implementation and indeed the original construction and design of Te Whakauruora.  Your commitment to responding through a strong cultural base, and to incorporating spiritual and cultural responses and solutions, is absolutely vital to establishing an enduring and effective strategy for change.

I wish you all a memorable Matariki and I am delighted to congratulate all sixteen graduates for the sterling effort you have all put into one of the most critical priorities of our time. 

No reira kia māia, kia kaha tonu, kia piki te ora ki a koutou katoa.