Project Supervisors: Morgan Tupaea and Dr. Rāwiri Tinirau
Institution: Te Atawhai o Te Ao: Independent Māori Research Institute for Environment and Health
Project Summary: The Whakapapa Research Project aims to gather whānau narratives from eight whānau case studies. As this project unfolds, whānau responses to challenges they have experienced will be documented, and a whānau research methodology will be developed. Through this project, an innovative space of whānau narratives and whakapapa connections will be created, and provide insight into the organisation, perseverance, and preservation of whānau and whakapapa over time.
As we are nearing the completion of elements of this project, the student will be given access to submissions from whānau researchers which they will be working with. The student does not require deep understanding of their own whakapapa but will be encouraged to mirror the journey of whānau researchers by reflecting on how the key themes within the broader project relate to their own whānau.
The student will be tasked with analysing submissions from whānau researchers to identify how whānau researchers write about the process of whānau research in relation to:
- Reclamation of knowledge;
- Capacity for healing; and
- Challenges and barriers to whānau research
Further, the student will be tasked with crafting a reflexive written piece that speaks to the observations they have made and their whakaaro on whānau research as a mechanism for reclaiming intergenerational knowledges and providing templates for navigating contemporary conflicts.