Leonie Pihama
Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Waikato
Professor Leonie Pihama is a mother of six and a grandmother of six. Leonie is Research Director at Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki, and Director of Māori and Indigenous Analysis Ltd, a Kaupapa Māori research company. She has worked at a range of Professorial roles at the University of Auckland and Waikato, including as Research Director of The International Research Institute for Māori and Indigenous Education (IRI) and Te Kotahi Research Institute. Leonie is a leading kaupapa Māori educator and researcher. She has been working in the intersecting fields of education, health, whānau wellbeing and Māori immersion education for a number of decades.
He Waka Eke Noa: The Role of the State in perpetuating Violence on Māori
In the presentation Professor Pihama will discuss findings from a Kaupapa Māori research study ‘He Waka Eke Noa: Māori cultural frameworks for violence prevention and intervention. He Waka Eke Noa a project that investigated the impact of violence on whānau highlights that many Māori have experiences of state violence over their lifetime including state neglect, failure to protect, abuse and abuse of power, racism, breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi and police violence. Across each area of violence within or by State and Government agencies Māori respondents in the survey and the interviews highlight high levels of experiences of state neglect, failure to protect, abuse and abuse of power, racism, breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi and police violence. All questions received answers that indicate some or a lot of experiences across their lifetime. Agencies identified most consistently are Health services; WINZ; Educational institutions; Justice and Oranga Tamariki. With the Police being noted as the most significant agency in regards to experiences of ‘failure to protect’. Over 80% of respondents noted having experience racism within State/Government agencies and organisations. 52% of all respondents indicated that they have experienced police violence within their lifetime. As a part of the project the team has looked in depth at the ways in which family violence has been defined, these definitions will be shared as a part of the presentation to illustrate the need to reframe the ways in family violence is constructed for Māori.
