HE KAUPAPA RANGAHAU MĀORI
He Toa Taumata Rau
The many resting places of courage
Our research title – whakataukī – honours the service and sacrifice of life, in pursuit of peace, by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Veterans.
We define Veterans as all those who have served in the military.
The NZDF Values
Tū Kaha - Taking action despite fears.
Tū Tika - Doing the right thing, always.
Tū Tira - Respecting and looking out for each other and integrity.
Tū Maia - Giving ones best.
Our logo also represents the life, and journey, of our service men, and women, during, and post, service. Both the values, and the journey, are personified within our logo by:
The tuna (eel) – The kaitiaki - guardian. The courageous traveller, a bringer of life, and kaitiaki of people and their place.
The Ruru (owl) – Native bird of prey. The stealthy warrior, watcher, protector, messenger and advisor.
The Mere and Toki Pounamu – Skills, accomplishments and balance. Tumātauenga – the theatre of war, and Mere Pounamu the guardian of Rongomaraeroa – the place of dialogue and peace.
The Kāponga – The silver fern under which NZ soldiers fought, fight and serve.
The Kororā – The Little Blue Penguin who is content in isolation and celebrates the return home.
The Korimako – the proclaimer of the new day, new times and new openings.
The Poutama and Pouhine – Representing aspirations, achievements, accomplishments and balance.
Kei te aha mātou?
What are we doing?
Gathering, analysing and co-constructing first-hand stories of contemporary NZDF veterans’ military-to-civilian life transition.
Gathering of whānau voices, perspectives and experiences of the(ir) Veterans’ transition journey.
Identifying key themes in these accounts of transition that might indicate specific risk and protective factors, using the framework ‘Te Matapihi ki te Ora’ (Emery et al., 2015).
Co-creating a range of holistic, pro-life, Māori values-based health and wellbeing tools to assist Military-to-civilian transition.
Through the extensive networks of our Veteran team members, we have invited Veteran participants (and whānau members) to share their stories with us. We have conducted interviews around Aotearoa New Zealand in: Gore, Dunedin, Christchurch, Lake Coleridge, Ōpōtiki, Wellington, Palmerston North and Hamilton, amongst other places. Interviews have been recorded and transcribed and first voice stories have been, and are being, written. The stories are reviewed multiple times with our Veteran and whānau story-tellers prior to their finalisation - and in readiness for publication in a book.
Also in development are short versions of stories that will be trialled as case studies with students in, for example, our Toi Ohomai Te Pūkenga Nursing, Counselling and Social Work programmes of study.
Our Kōhatu Mauri
Mere Pounamu
The guardian of Rongomaraeroa – the place of dialogue and peace
Holds the life force, vital essence, and energy that is within all things including our kaupapa rangahau, knitting and bonding them, and us, together
He tākoha ki te kaupapa nā Caine Tauwhare