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Author Bio

Dr. Glenis Mark (Ngapuhi, Tainui, Ngai Tahu, Ngati Koata) works as an independent researcher who has conducted research on Rongoā Māori (traditional Māori healing) for several years, which is driven by her belief that traditional healing practices can help to heal the people and the land. Currently working on the intersection between Rongoā and medical treatment, Glenis continues to pursue supporting research evidence of Māori cultural healing values and practices, such as further definition of the Rongoā space and benefits of healing. glennistabethamark@yahoo.co.nz

Dr. Amohia Boulton (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngai te Rangi, Ngāti Pukenga and Ngāti Mutunga) is the Director of Whakauae Research Services, a tribally-owned, Indigenous health research centre in Whanganui, New Zealand. She holds adjunct positions in the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health (Victoria University of Wellington); and in the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). As a Māori health services researcher, Dr Boulton’s interests focus on the relationship between, and contribution of, government policy, contracting mechanisms, and accountability frameworks to improving health outcomes for Māori. amohia@whakauae.co.nz

Donna Kerridge (Ngati Tahinga, Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Mahuta) is a practicing Rongoā Māori clinician, tutor and advocate for upholding indigenous healing practices in Aotearoa, New Zealand. In addition to authoring popular media articles about Rongoā Māori, Donna also provides her expertise to a number of research teams across the country. She is the mandated spokesperson for Te Kahui Rongoā, the New Zealand national collective of Maori healers and has been appointed to a number of Māori, Government and professional body advisory groups for her expertise in Māori medicine. donna@oranewzealand.com

Abstract

Rongoā Māori (RM), traditional Māori healing, encompasses Māori values, customs and healing practices that have existed in Aotearoa/New Zealand for more than a thousand years. Increasing global interest in commercialization of Indigenous knowledge, has resulted in misuse, misrepresentation, and misunderstanding of this Indigenous knowledge. Amalgamation of RM practices under the umbrella of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for ease of classification and categorization displaces RM from its place as a culturally appropriate healing treatment for Māori. This community-based commentary premises the right of Indigenous peoples to maintain the cultural integrity of their healing practices, separate from CAM, and that recognises Indigenous healing practices as integral to a culturally appropriate way of life.

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