This manuscript presents a communication framework embedded in whakapapa. It highlights the experiences of whānau Māori as they discuss the factors that impact their health and wellbeing. It also explores how they deal with socioeconomic challenges, which are contextualised in relation to the whenua, associated ancestral place names and kinship ties. The opening of discursive spaces provides platforms for voice, and led to the establishment of māra kai on ancestral whenua and the (re) clamation of Indigenous knowledge and place names in Feilding, Manawatū.

This article draws on research undertaken for the study Kaitiakitanga: Māori Experiences, Expressions, and Understandings (Beverland, 2022). Four main themes were identified: Whānau, Taiao, Taonga Tuku Iho and Tino Rangatiratanga. The research was undertaken through a Kaupapa Māori methodology that carried an obligation to apply Māori ways of knowing and being across all areas of the study. This article draws upon one component from the larger study that concerned taiao and mauri ora. Kaikōrero discussed how being on land, by their respective waterways or being able to access their own cultural resource brought them mauri ora such as balance, cultural connection and wellness.