I Roto i te Pouri, Te Maramataka e Whiti ana: Maramataka-Informed Approaches to Suicide Prevention
Tracks
Ballroom 2 - In-Person & Virtual via OnAIR
| Monday, October 12, 2026 |
| 12:10 PM - 12:40 PM |
| Ballroom 2 |
Overview
Stevana Tuhoro, Matewai Wharepapa & Te Rina Ransfield, Te Puna Ora O Mataatua
Three Key Learnings
1. This kaupapa offers a transferable model that other practitioners and Indigenous communities can adapt to explore localised patterns of distress and prevention.
2. It highlights the critical role of mātauranga Māori in generating cultural insights that inform meaningful change and strengthens Indigenous-led approaches to wellbeing and prevention.
3. It will translate the Maramataka wellbeing model into a digitally enabled, AI-supported Indigenous wellbeing tool, responding to contemporary digital contexts while remaining anchored in te ao Māori. This bridges knowledge systems, ensuring cultural wisdom continues to guide innovation and wellbeing solutions for future generations.
Presenter
Stevana Tuhoro
Team Lead/suicide Prevention Coordinator
Te Puna Ora O Mataatua
I Roto i te Pouri, Te Maramataka e Whiti ana: Maramataka-Informed Approaches to Suicide Prevention
Presentation Overview
This Kaupapa Māori rangahau initiative explores Indigenous approaches to the primary prevention of mental distress by mapping confirmed coronary deaths by suicide in Mataatua from 2007 to 2023 against the Maramataka. Informed by mātauranga Māori, the project seeks to identify patterns that deepen understanding of distress while informing strengths-based, preventative responses. The analysis, led by Te Rina Ransfield (The Maramataka Mum) and peer reviewed by Rangi Mataamua, integrates pūrakau and traditional knowledge to ensure cultural integrity.
Complementing the research, wānanga held across the Mataatua rohe since August 2024 have engaged whānau in safe, collective spaces to explore Maramataka as a tool for healing, reflection, and oranga. Whānau voice has been central, shaping both the direction of the research and its practical application.
Emerging insights from Rangi Mataamua highlight that the prevention of distress is strengthened through lived cultural practice rather than knowledge alone. In response, this kaupapa has shifted toward the revitalisation of seasonal Hautapu ceremonies as intentional spaces for reconnection, collective care, and the strengthening of identity and belonging. These practices move beyond responding to crisis, instead building protective factors that support long-term wellbeing.
This innovative research is the first of its kind to map suicide data against the Maramataka within a specific rohe, offering a new Indigenous analytical approach to understanding patterns of harm. It was undertaken as a preventative tool, enabling whānau to recognise seasonal and lunar patterns where heightened vulnerability may occur, and to better prepare and support their whānau during these times.
This presentation will share key findings and reflections from both the rangahau and wānanga process, alongside the development of a Raumati (Mātiti) Hautapu planned for 2026. It will demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge systems, when lived and practiced collectively, can shift the focus from distress to strength by embedding prevention within culture and community.
Complementing the research, wānanga held across the Mataatua rohe since August 2024 have engaged whānau in safe, collective spaces to explore Maramataka as a tool for healing, reflection, and oranga. Whānau voice has been central, shaping both the direction of the research and its practical application.
Emerging insights from Rangi Mataamua highlight that the prevention of distress is strengthened through lived cultural practice rather than knowledge alone. In response, this kaupapa has shifted toward the revitalisation of seasonal Hautapu ceremonies as intentional spaces for reconnection, collective care, and the strengthening of identity and belonging. These practices move beyond responding to crisis, instead building protective factors that support long-term wellbeing.
This innovative research is the first of its kind to map suicide data against the Maramataka within a specific rohe, offering a new Indigenous analytical approach to understanding patterns of harm. It was undertaken as a preventative tool, enabling whānau to recognise seasonal and lunar patterns where heightened vulnerability may occur, and to better prepare and support their whānau during these times.
This presentation will share key findings and reflections from both the rangahau and wānanga process, alongside the development of a Raumati (Mātiti) Hautapu planned for 2026. It will demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge systems, when lived and practiced collectively, can shift the focus from distress to strength by embedding prevention within culture and community.
Biography
Matewai Wharepapa
He uri tenei no Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Porou.
BA (Hons), Pg Dip Ed (Primary), PGDip AMHAC (Mental Health and Addictions), Cert in Public Health & Health Promotion (Suicide Prevention), Addictions Practitioner (DAPAANZ).
She brings strong clinical expertise, lived experience, and cultural integrity to her leadership, with a clear commitment to delivering accessible, responsive, and kaupapa Maori services. Her work focuses on strengthening kaimahi capability, creating safe and supportive environments, and upholding the mana of those they serve. Passionate about equity, her practice builds on whakawhanaungatanga, trust, and holistic, whanau focused approaches that support long-term wellbeing.
Matewai Wharepapa
Manager
Te Puna Ora O Mataatua
I Roto i te Pouri, Te Maramataka e Whiti ana: Maramataka-Informed Approaches to Suicide Prevention
Presentation Overview
This Kaupapa Māori rangahau initiative explores Indigenous approaches to the primary prevention of mental distress by mapping confirmed coronary deaths by suicide in Mataatua from 2007 to 2023 against the Maramataka. Informed by mātauranga Māori, the project seeks to identify patterns that deepen understanding of distress while informing strengths-based, preventative responses. The analysis, led by Te Rina Ransfield (The Maramataka Mum) and peer reviewed by Rangi Mataamua, integrates pūrakau and traditional knowledge to ensure cultural integrity.
Complementing the research, wānanga held across the Mataatua rohe since August 2024 have engaged whānau in safe, collective spaces to explore Maramataka as a tool for healing, reflection, and oranga. Whānau voice has been central, shaping both the direction of the research and its practical application.
Emerging insights from Rangi Mataamua highlight that the prevention of distress is strengthened through lived cultural practice rather than knowledge alone. In response, this kaupapa has shifted toward the revitalisation of seasonal Hautapu ceremonies as intentional spaces for reconnection, collective care, and the strengthening of identity and belonging. These practices move beyond responding to crisis, instead building protective factors that support long-term wellbeing.
This innovative research is the first of its kind to map suicide data against the Maramataka within a specific rohe, offering a new Indigenous analytical approach to understanding patterns of harm. It was undertaken as a preventative tool, enabling whānau to recognise seasonal and lunar patterns where heightened vulnerability may occur, and to better prepare and support their whānau during these times.
This presentation will share key findings and reflections from both the rangahau and wānanga process, alongside the development of a Raumati (Mātiti) Hautapu planned for 2026. It will demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge systems, when lived and practiced collectively, can shift the focus from distress to strength by embedding prevention within culture and community.
Complementing the research, wānanga held across the Mataatua rohe since August 2024 have engaged whānau in safe, collective spaces to explore Maramataka as a tool for healing, reflection, and oranga. Whānau voice has been central, shaping both the direction of the research and its practical application.
Emerging insights from Rangi Mataamua highlight that the prevention of distress is strengthened through lived cultural practice rather than knowledge alone. In response, this kaupapa has shifted toward the revitalisation of seasonal Hautapu ceremonies as intentional spaces for reconnection, collective care, and the strengthening of identity and belonging. These practices move beyond responding to crisis, instead building protective factors that support long-term wellbeing.
This innovative research is the first of its kind to map suicide data against the Maramataka within a specific rohe, offering a new Indigenous analytical approach to understanding patterns of harm. It was undertaken as a preventative tool, enabling whānau to recognise seasonal and lunar patterns where heightened vulnerability may occur, and to better prepare and support their whānau during these times.
This presentation will share key findings and reflections from both the rangahau and wānanga process, alongside the development of a Raumati (Mātiti) Hautapu planned for 2026. It will demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge systems, when lived and practiced collectively, can shift the focus from distress to strength by embedding prevention within culture and community.
Biography
