Nikora, L. W. (2015, November 17). Maori Flourishing in a Fast Changing World - Inaugural Professorial Address. Presented at the University of Waikato, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Abstract
A strong sense of who one is and that one’s life matters is vital to health and wellbeing. Without meaning and belonging many people, families and communities lie open to the risk of mental illness, addiction, transience, criminality, suicide and so on. In a rapidly changing social and technological environment where being Maori is enacted in the face of a dominant Pakeha majority, and in an increasingly diverse Maori world, staying well is an important challenge that we cannot underestimate or take for granted. There are many unwellness forces upon Maori in this fast changing world. Some are obvious and readily felt, others not so easy to apprehend or explain. Surveying almost 30 years of research, Professor Nikora will examine some of these unwellness forces and responses Maori make within the broader quest to remain indigenous and to flourish.
