When the Covid-19 pandemic sent Aotearoa into shock in March 2020, Māori communities throughout the country responded in a way we have never seen them, or any other community in this country, respond to a crisis. Within 24 hours of the pandemic being announced and level 4 lockdown beginning, hapū and iwi took action! They got innovative and they worked at speed, some say even faster than government led responses. Why? Because for Māori it was about the survival of their whakapapa. Pandemics of the past have not only killed many of their people, but threatened the survival of their entire race and culture. And while that was many generations ago, they remembered. There is so much information online about Māori and Covid-19 so we thought we’d dedicate a space on our website to some interesting links, resources and tools from Māori on the internet that we have come across.
Maori health responses
- Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā – National Maori Pandemic Group: A pressure group of Maori doctors and health experts who disseminate evidence and culturally appropriate information about pandemics to Maori communities; and that advocates for the removal of health equalities facing Maori
- Testing stations: xxxx
Maori social service responses
Whanau Ora: This group managed to get essential food and health supplies to tens of thousands of Maori homes throughout the country; set up testing stations and push the Government to ensure Maori were not left behind in its national response.
Maori community safety response (tribal border checkpoints)
- West: Taranaki
- East: Te Whanau A Apanui
- North: Ngapuhi
Protect our Whakapapa: A grassroots kaupapa that provides relevant, evidence-based information and resources for whānau during the COVID-19 rāhui and beyond
Māori Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities – Perspectives for Covid-19: In this webinar, filmed on Thursday 21st May 2020, we are joined by Dr. Regan Potangaroa, Adrian Te Patu and Maire Kipa who present on the challenges and opportunities for Māori recovery from the Covid-19 situation, based on learnings from Otautahi and other indigenous disaster experiences.