144 Tasman Road, Ōtaki, New Zealand 5512

Phone 0800 WANANGA

Whāngai and the Adoption of Māori

'Whāngai and the Adoption of Māori' is a three year project hosted by Te Wānanga o Raukawa with support from the Marsden fund.


The project has three aims:


  • to grow our understanding of the ongoing, inter-generational impacts of closed-stranger adoption on Māori adoptees and their descendants
  • to grow our understanding of the practice of whāngai now and in the past, and its impacts on the well-being of whāngai and their whānau
  • to explore ways to heal the violence of closed-stranger adoption, and the potential of whāngai to contribute to whānau, hapū, and iwi wellbeing. 


The first phase of the project involved laying the foundations and building our understandings of whāngai and the adoption of Māori. Our team interviewed 14 pūkenga (people who have key information in these areas) examined primary data sourced from Archives NZ and the NZ Parliamentary Library and undertook a review of published work. Out of this we drafted three working papers. One drew together what we had learned about the tikanga of whāngai, past and present, and another added to what we knew about the practice of adoption and the adoption of Māori. The third working paper contained an overview of the laws that have been passed by the New Zealand Parliament relating to whāngai and adoption.


The second phase of the project included interviewing people about their experiences of whāngai and adoption. Together, the project team interviewed over 100 people - whāngai and adoptees, whāngai and adoptive and birth parents, and the tamariki, mokopuna and siblings of whāngai and adoptees.


In the third and current phase of the project, the team is undertaking another round of pūkenga interviews - this time to understand more about different understandings of the kaupapa of whakapapa. 


The team will develop two books from what has been shared with us and what we've learned. The first book is underway and tells of people’s experiences of whāngai and adoption. The second book will look at the history of whāngai and adoption and how they have been shaped, and particularly by the context of colonisation. A number of journal articles will also be written to share what we have learned. A national hui will be held in February 2021 to share what we have learned with those who have contributed to the project and their whānau


Ngā Ringa Rauhī Project Media
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