Christine Marie KENNEY1, David JOHNSTON2, Douglas PATON3, John REID4, Suzanne Rachel PHIBBS5 1Edith Cowan University, Australia; 2Joint Centre for Disaster Research/GNS Science, New Zealand; 3University of Tasmania, Australia; 4Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, New Zealand; 5Massey University, New Zealand

1. Addressing Risk and Resilience:
An analysis of Māori communities and cultural
technologies in response to the Christchurch
earthquakes
Dr Christine M. Kenney PhD
Research Fellow
Joint Centre of Disaster Research
Massey University /GNS
Edith Cowan University
4th IDRC Davos
Switzerland
28th August 2012

2. Aim and Purposes
• Identify and document Ngāi Tahu cultural
attributes that facilitate resilience In Māori
communities following disasters
• Support development of Māori disaster
preparedness workforce capacity
• Inform local, regional and national policy
development in regards to recovery, rebuild,
and disaster preparedness planning

3. Community-based Participatory
Research Design
• Māori Qualitative Research Methodology:
• Participants:
- 100* Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu staff and tribal members
• Recruitment: community determined; self selection
• Data Collection: semi-structured interviews; focus groups
• Data analysis: Bricolage approach
- Kaupapa Māori theories (Bishop, 1996; Smith, 1999),
- Social theories (Blaikie, 2007; Latour, 2005; Foucault,1963)
- Adaptive Capacity Model (Paton, in press).

4. Christchurch Context
Population: 399,900 (1800 Ngāi Tahu)
Loss of Shelter (100,000 damaged homes)
Loss of Power (54,000 homes without power)
Loss of Water Supply (80% population)
Limited Food Supplies (Main outlets closed)
Disrupted Transport (Liquefaction, ≠ roading)
Physical Injury and Illness (7500+ ACC claims)
Death Toll: 185 from 15 countries

5. Ngāi Tahu‟s Response
• Established contact and communication support
• Opened Marae (community centres) as shelters/welfare centres
• Integrated recovery response with Govt, NGOs, and other Iwi,
• Coordinated reception/redistribution supplies/resources
• Provided emergency support services
• Offered outreach primary health care
• Assisted immigrants and immigrant support agencies
• Assisted urban security services
• Provided financial support
• Provided/distributed water
• IN TOTAL: Contacted/ provided shelter, food, water
clothing, toys, finances and other non perishable
goods to 8000 households following the earthquake

6. Kaupapa (values) = Cultural Strengths
• Kotahitanga (Unity)
• Whānau (family, whakapapa {genealogy})
• Whanāunatanga (relationships)
• Manaakitanga (Respect/Support/Hospitality)
• Katiakitanga (Guardianship)
• Mana whenua (Belonging to the land)
• Marae (Community Centres)
• Tūrangawaewae (Homeland)

7. Kotahitanga (Unity)
• There is no you, There is no I, there is only us. We are in this
together. (MS)
• In the end everyone came to our house.., there was 18 to 20
people living in our house with us for 8 weeks . And that is
what you do as Ngāi Tahu, as Māori you come together.., you
take in whoever needs somewhere to stay.., support.(PA)
• If we were able we came and helped..., some Ngāi Tahu was
accountants and managers , it didn‟t; matter it was cool. We all
pitched in did what we had to do to get the job done to the
best of our abilities. It was a horrible time but it was also a
great time in terms of the bonds that was formed so it was
kotahitanga, unity eh. (AP)

8. Whānau (Families)
• We had power, food and water and others didn‟t, and for
whānau that is what you do, you get on, ring around all your
family networks and let everybody know …, and say „You need
to do washing, somewhere to stay, kai (food)?‟ Come over! (SH)
• When they (Govt) want to encourage people to respond well to
disaster .., they encourage them to make connections to their
neighbours their family… Well that already naturally occurs with
an Iwi (tribe); and that is their first advantage… an advantage
that you can‟t underestimate… That whānau (family) and that
connectedness-base, underpins why Ngāi Tahu performed so
well. (LA)

9. Whanāungatanga (relationships)
• The communication between our staff and other services was
good. We kept in touch with Te Puni Kokeri, they are friends
so.., we knew if the whānau (families) weren‟t getting the
assistance that was needed they would contact us.(SO)
• We had care parcels arrive in from Tauranga Iwi (tribes) ..There
was a lot of baby stuff which was great because a lot of the
mothers had lost stuff and there was real thought given to a lot
of these parcels. (MA)
• We had Iwi (tribes)coming down looking to assist. To help out
and we were providing them with what information we could on
where their people were and those of their people that had
contacted us about what their people‟s core needs were. (DO)

10. Marae (Community Centres)
• Welfare centres were set up on our marae (community centre);
and they all opened even Rapaki (marae) who were one of
our more harder hit communities with boulders smashing
through their houses. I mean they were straight down there...,
the marare was open, and functioning, accommodating and
supporting whānau. (DA)
• Ngāi Tahu was hard hit organisationally so we had to turn to
one of the cultural mechanisms of support we know, so
obviously we turned to our marae (community centres)
because they are right there when a storm hits, there for
everyone, pakeha and Māori. (TO)

11. Manaakitanga (Support)
• “It was about getting out to the people, engaging face to face
and offering support.” (DA)
• “We had people ringing families and saying what do you
need? What can we get you? And then we‟d ring up one of the
boys and say Can you drop off $50.00 worth of groceries this
person needs coffee milk sugar, water whatever.” (MA)
• We‟d get containers in from the Kohanga (kindergarten) in
Wellington and they would leave little notes with the kai (food)
and clothing for people and it was primo!” (SH)

12. Kaitaikitanga (Guardianship)
• We have passed down knowledge of our whenua (land)
our awa (rivers) which could help in planning for the future.
Some of our kaumatua (elders) even have old maps, for
example one Ngāi Tahu whānau has a map of all the
underground awa (rivers) below Christchurch. (SO)
• We have a responsibility as Kaitiaki (guardians) of our land
to work with CERA and the others to plan for the future.
One of the ways we can help is by using our cultural
knowledge to inform the redesigning and rebuilding of
Christchurch. (T)

13. Value for Risk Management
• Integration of Ngāi Tahu resources and strengths into
disaster preparedness and emergency response
planning at local and national levels
• Application of Ngāi Tahu cultural and environmental
knowledge to inform urban panning/rebuilding
• Creation of a Ngāi Tahu model of Māori community
resilience following disasters
• Enhancement of Ngāi Tahu disaster preparedness
infrastructure and disaster and emergency response
workforce capacity

14. Conclusion
• Ngāi Tahu identity imposes relational obligations on
tribal members to facilitate community well-being
• Ngāi Tahu cultural values constitute cultural strengths
• Ngāi Tahu cultural strengths act as moral and
relational technologies/actor networks to facilitate
community recovery and resilience
• Ngāi Tahu cultural knowledge and practices will
enhance integrated disaster risk management

15. References
• Bishop, R. (1996). Whakawhanaungatanga Collaborative Research Stories. Palmerston North: Dunmore
Press Ltd.
• Blaikie, N. (2007). Approaches to Social Inquiry (2nd ed.). Malden, MA, Cambridge: Polity Press.
• Boulton, Amohia; Gifford, Heather (2011). Resilience as a Conceptual Framework for Understanding the
Māori Experience: Positions, Challenges and Risks. In Tracey McIntosh and Malcolm Mulholland Māori and
Social Issues: Volume One, Huia, Publications, Wellington, New Zealand.
• Frank, Arthur (2005). What is dialogical research and why should we do it? Qualitative Health Research,
15(7), 964-974.
• Frank, A. (2006). Health stories as connectors and subjectifiers. Health, 10(4), 421-440
• Freire, Pablo. (1967, 2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed 30th Anniversary Edition (M. Ramos, Trans.),
Continuum, London, New York.
• Harre, R. & Van Langenhove, L. (Eds.) (1999). Positioning Theory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
• Hudson, James; Hughes, Emma (2007). The role of marae and Māori communities in post disaster recovery:
A Case study, GNS Science Report, 2007/15, GNS Science, Wellington, New Zealand.
• Israel, Barbara; Schulz, Amy; Parker, Edith; Becker, Adam (1998). Review of community based research:
Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19, 173-202.
• Johnston, David; Becker, Julia; Paton, Douglas. (2008). Building disaster-resilient communities: the need for
community-based programmes. New Zealand Local Government, 44, 17.

16. References
• Kenney, Christine (2009). Me aro ki te hā o Hineahuone: women miscarriage stories and midwifery: towards
a contextually relevant research methodology. PhD Thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North, NZ,
http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1191
• Latour, B. (1991). Technology is society made durable. In J. Law (Ed.), A Sociology of Monters: Essays on
Power, Technology and domination (pp. 103-131). London, New York: Routledge.
• Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford, New York, NY:
Oxford University Press
• Paton, Douglas (2007). Measuring and monitoring resilience. GNS Science Report 2007/18, GNS Science,
Wellington, New Zealand.
• Paton, Douglas (In Press). Psychological rehabilitation planning for disaster survivors. Kaohsiung Journal of
Medical Sciences.
• Proctor, Elisabeth-Mary (2010). Toi tu te whenua, toi tu te tangata: A holistic Māori Approach to flood
management in Pawarenga. Masters Thesis, Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand.
• Smith, Linda (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd ed.), University of
Otago Press, Dunedin, New Zealand.
• Somers. M. (1994). The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach. Theory and
Society, 23, 605-649
• Sonn, Christopher; Green, Meredith (2006). Disrupting the dynamics of oppression in intercultural research
and practice. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16(5), 337-346.