Applying Māori values and concepts.

Do you struggle to know how to ground your practice in Māori cultural values and concepts? Cultural competence is a requirement for all registered professionals, and while cultural competence looks different in different countries, communities, and organisations, it is something we can all ultimately benefit from. There is much discussion academically on the most appropriate phrasing for being able to work safely and appropriately with Māori, but for me, a helpful rule of thumb is whether I would refer a whānau member or Māori friend to a particular practitioner. The amount of support available to help us develop our cultural competence varies from place to place. So, how can practitioners improve their cultural competence, particularly if the organisation they work for is very Western and they have limited professional development opportunities?

Growing bicultural competence

Let me show you an example of how cultural support was provided in supervision to build on my supervisee’s skills and knowledge. The supervisee was supporting a young Māori father living outside of his tribal area, and wanted to know how she could best assist him and his young whānau. The man lived in a predominately Caucasian city, and the organisation where the supervisee worked was also very Western in its orientation. The supervisee is non-Māori, although has a good understanding of te ao Māori and her role as tangata tiriti. Her client responded appreciatively when she used Māori greetings, and when she advocated for a whānau-based, rather than individual service (i.e. consistent with Māori ways of working).

The supervisee’s client was terminally unwell, but seemed to be flipping between making unrealistic (based on his prognosis) long term plans for himself and his whānau, and then suggesting he could die any day. My supervisee had already done relationship building (whakawhanaungatanga) with him, and in doing so, identified his tribal (iwi) connections. She had also enquired as to what health entitlements he may be able to access through his iwi, but discovered he was unable to due to living away from tribal lands. Her client had expressed a desire to return to his homelands, but this seemed financially and physically unachievable. The supervisee had also explored what health services he could access due to the nature of his medical condition, but these were minimal. Her concern was how she could best support him to address his physical and emotional needs, in line with his cultural needs.

Determining client preferences for kaupapa Māori service

Not all Māori clients want a kaupapa Māori based service, so this needs to be carefully determined with the client themselves. Even asking the question as to what kind of service a Māori client prefers needs to be carefully handled depending on the client’s positioning and openness to the conversation. In this sense, determining what is best for each client can be a bit of a ‘dance’ assessing how open the client is to discussing their cultural needs. For some clients, their previous negative experiences in organisations has impacted them, making them wary of receiving a service consistent with their needs. Relationship and trust building is therefore essential. This again raises the question of how can practitioners best serve their client’s needs in a culturally acceptable way.

Discussing these kinds of issues in the safety of supervision can allow supervisees to ask questions they are fearful to ask colleagues, or that they aren’t confident enough to raise due to others’ lack of understanding or experience. Talking through issues sometimes leads to ideas organically coming out of the supervision conversation. Pondering appropriate responses can be done a range of ways. This might include considering things such as: how certain values may apply (such as manaakitanga / care and hospitality or whanaungatanga / making connections) or; what specific Māori practice models (such as the Meihana model based on a two-hulled canoe) might suggest, or; how might metaphors in stories or proverbs be relevant.

Drawing on traditional Māori narratives

In the situation with my supervisee and the man who was terminally unwell, a whakataukī (proverb) was offered:
“E kore te matau e rawe ki te moana taka ai, engari anō a uta. / It is useless fastening a fish hook at sea, that is better done on shore”.

From unpacking some of the metaphors embedded in this proverb, the supervisee thought the proverb fitted her client’s situation perfectly, and he would relate to this. She could see the whakataukī would enable conversations about the need to prepare in advance; where the destination might be; the need to read ‘weather conditions’, and; ‘fishing’ in order to provide for whānau. The supervisee had previously used whakataukī/proverb cards with the client, and he responded enthusiastically to these. She could see that this whakataukī would support her to have a somewhat challenging conversation about future planning, through the imagery the proverb invoked, and the cultural values embedded in it. This led her to feel optimistic and excited about using this tool with her client.

Using a whakataukī in this way reinforces traditional Māori beliefs about providing for whānau and drawing on ancestral knowledge such as reading the weather, knowledge of the stars and the art of fishing. The use of metaphors is in itself a very Māori way of making sense of the world. Highlighting the kōrero about the future needs of the client’s whānau, also reinforced the centrality of whānau, which is the core of Māori society. This kōrero she planned to have using the proverb was built on the solid relationship the supervisee had built with her client. Her practise of rapport building, her use of familiar Māori words and phrases, engaging with him as part of his whānau – not just on his own – and understanding his draw to be in his homelands with his wider whānau, all signalled that she had some understanding of te ao Māori. She had made it safe for him to discuss personal and cultural issues because of her cultural competence, and her meaningful, real connection to her client. The supervisee balanced this with doing the ‘mahi’ of addressing practical needs for her client – exploring funding and medical options, ensuring she hadn’t concentrated on cultural issues at the expense of practical ones.

Supervision / kaitiakitanga in supporting cultural competence

Our kōrero in supervision reaffirmed what the supervisee had already done to form a strong cultural and therapeutic connection with her client, and helped her identify some other tools she could use to support her client. Supervision should draw on what supervisees know and add to that, using supervisee strengths whilst encouraging growth in understanding and in practice.

Like the whakataukī mentioned above, supervisors can assist supervisees on ‘shore’ to prepare for their upcoming journey with clients, learn to read the weather conditions and use the appropriate tools. The beauty of this is that good supervisory practice develops and empowers supervisees, who in turn develop and empower the clients they work with. That way we all enjoy a good feed of fish.

Glossary

Iwi – tribe, bone
Kaupapa Māori – Māori approach
Kōrero – talk, discussion
Mahi – work, job
Manaakitanga – care and hospitality, building others up
Meihana model – a health care assessment model based on a two-hulled canoe
Meihana model reference
Tangata tiriti – person of the Treaty (of Waitangi) who belongs to Aotearoa New Zealand by virtue of Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Te ao Māori – the Māori world / way of viewing things
Whakataukī – proverb or tribal saying
Whakawhanaungatanga – process of establishing relationships, usually through identifying mutual connections
Whānau – extended family
Whanaungatanga – relationship, sense of family connection

Whakataukī card sets available at my shop