Te Wakahuia o Hine is a charitable organisation that has a research partnership with Tieki Consultancy. Te Wakahuia o Hine is committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa), and therefore privileges the equal relationship between Tangata Whenua (Māori as the indigenous People of the Land) and Tangata Tiriti (Tauiwi as People of the Treaty) and the guarantees of Te Tiriti for all.
Te Wakahuia o Hine is principally concerned with the wellbeing of Tangata Whenua - midwives and student midwives, whānau accessing midwifery and maternity services, and the integrity and quality of those services that achieve the intent of Te Tiriti to serve all citizens equally.
The charitable objects of Te Wakahuia o Hine are to ensure a Tiriti o Waitangi focus on the areas of:
- Midwifery and Maternity Strategies.
- Investments.
- Policies.
- Education and Research.
- Activities that advance holistic health and wellbeing of Tangata Whenua and thereby benefit the community.
Te Wakahuia o Hine use a Te Tiriti informed rubric to evaluate the quality of the above focus areas against Te Tiriti obligations and uphold the purpose of Te Wakahuia o Hine.
our Tikanga
Tūranga Tiketike
Te Wakahuia o Hine will take stances and make decisions and judgements based on facts, timeliness, reasonableness and robust research, that are consistent with the intent of Te Tiriti.
Whare Kōhanga
Te Wakahuia o Hine will promote our worldview as Tangata Whenua. We will pursue the values and wisdom of our tīpuna and promote innovation and solutions that are based on Tangata Whenua philosophies, mātauranga and mōhiotanga.
Oha Whenua
Members of Te Wakahuia o Hine will be kind, practise manaakitanga (mana aki) and reciprocity.
Houhou i te rongo
Te Tiriti o Waitangi will guide our humility toward others by ensuring that we see ourselves as equals to other citizens. We will respect all people and their views, but we may from time to time disagree. We will pursue and maintain relationships that enable equality and equity.
our governance board
kaniwa kupenga-tamarama
poutū tauwhirowhiro (Inaugural Chairperson)
Ngāti Porou, Waikato
Kaniwa resides in Tairāwhiti following her shift from Tāmaki Makaurau, and has four tamariki. She is a registered Midwife, having worked as a Core Staff Midwife and a Self Employed Lead Maternity Care (LMC) Midwife in both Counties Manukau and Tairāwhiti where she continues to provide midwifery care to whānau in urban, rural, and remote rural communities. She also spent time in 2019 as the WINTEC Gisborne Midwifery Hub tutor. Kaniwa has a Life Coach Diploma and is the founder and Director of Kia Kaha Māmā. She has represented Ngā Māia o Aotearoa on the New Zealand College of Midwives National Governance Board, and was the Deputy Chair of Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau. Kaniwa is a member of the Ngāti Uepohatu branch of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, and the National Māori Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) Rōpu. As a member of the Tairāwhiti FASD rōpū she concieved the Tapu whilst Hapū campaign.
She was recently the Mokopuna Ora Coordinator at Hauora Tairāwhiti and is now the Nāti Pēpi Midwifery Project Lead with Ngāti Porou Hauora. Kaniwa has a Post Graduate Diploma in Midwifery, and is preparing to commence her Masters qualification with Massey University in Te Pūmanawa Hauora. She is passionate about Māori health promotion, Māori midwifery development, reclamation of indigenous Māori birthing practices, protecting physiological reproductive mechanisms, and illustrating the reproductive justice rights of Tangata Whenua. She is excited to be on a journey that celebrates being immersed within Te Ao Mārama.
dr hope tupara
co-deputy chairperson
Ngā Pōtiki ā Tamapahore, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Te Roroa
Hope resides in Levin and has one daughter and four mokopuna. She has been a registered Midwife for 25 years, during which time she was a Midwifery Lecturer for five years. She was the first practising Māori Midwife to be appointed to the Nursing Council of New Zealand and the inaugural Midwifery Council of New Zealand.
Hope was a Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Negotiator for Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, later their Iwi Chair, and the Chair of Te Rūnanga o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. After steeping down as Iwi Chair she was a Technical Advisor to the Iwi Chairs Forum on Whānau Ora, and a Ministerial Advisor to the Attorney General on post Treaty settlement issues. She has been an author in the Australasian Midwifery: Preparation for practice textbook, editions two, three and four, and takes pride in ensuring a succession plan for authorship.
Hope is Senior Advisor Māori at Oranga Tamariki Head Office in the Whānau Care Team and Sexual Violence Project. She also coordinates the PhD programme, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, at the Research Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University. Hope is Co-Chair for the Midwifery Council of New Zealand Aotearoa Midwifery Project, a member of the National Ethics Advisory Committee, and is on the Governance Group for the National Science Challenge, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. She is the President for Ikaroa region of the Māori Womens Welfare League. Hope has a proven track record of guiding a range of organisations that are being courageous and breaking new ground using a Tiriti o Waitangi lens.
Hope is Senior Advisor Māori at Oranga Tamariki Head Office in the Whānau Care Team and Sexual Violence Project. She also coordinates the PhD programme, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, at the Research Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University. Hope is Co-Chair for the Midwifery Council of New Zealand Aotearoa Midwifery Project, a member of the National Ethics Advisory Committee, and is on the Governance Group for the National Science Challenge, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. She is the President for Ikaroa region of the Māori Womens Welfare League. Hope has a proven track record of guiding a range of organisations that are being courageous and breaking new ground using a Tiriti o Waitangi lens.
Megan tahere
co-deputy chairperson
Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi, Raukawa
Megan is a proud māmā of five tamariki and four mokopuna. She was born and raised in Tauranga and now resides in Onewhero. As a registered Midwife she has worked in primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings. She was the Māori Midwifery Liaison, Pū Ora Matatini Midwifery Scholarship Coordinator, and a Midwifery Clinical Educator at AUT for four years, lectured Māori Health at AUT, was the Clinical Director Primary Maternity Services at Auckland DHB, and the Service Development Manager Child, Youth, and Maternity in the Startegy and Funding Team at Waikato DHB. She was the Deputy Chair of the New Zealand College of Midwives Auckland Region and representative on the National Governance Board, a Ngā Māia o Aotearoa Trustee, and a Trustee and the Chair of Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau. Megan co-authored the Midwives and Māori women: advancing our relationship chapter in the 4th edition of Midwifery: Preparation for practice.
She is the Chief Māori Health and Equity Officer at Taranaki DHB, an Advisor Hauora Māori - New Zealand Health Plan in the Transition Unit - Depratment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is a PhD Candidate in Te Pūmanawa Hauora at Massey University. Megan is a member of the ACC Growth Assessment Protocol Working Group, the National Hauora Coalition Best Start Kōwae Governance Group, and Poutoko Hauora. She is committed to championing the development of our health system and services to be protective and to work in partnership with iwi, Māori, providers, stakeholders, and whānau to achieve outcomes that matter to them and their communities.
She is the Chief Māori Health and Equity Officer at Taranaki DHB, an Advisor Hauora Māori - New Zealand Health Plan in the Transition Unit - Depratment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is a PhD Candidate in Te Pūmanawa Hauora at Massey University. Megan is a member of the ACC Growth Assessment Protocol Working Group, the National Hauora Coalition Best Start Kōwae Governance Group, and Poutoko Hauora. She is committed to championing the development of our health system and services to be protective and to work in partnership with iwi, Māori, providers, stakeholders, and whānau to achieve outcomes that matter to them and their communities.
Alana ewe-snow
treasurer
Ngāti Whātua, Waikato
Alana resides in Kirikiriroa and has two tamariki. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Management Studies (majors: Accounting, Marketing and Strategic Management). Alana has additional qualifications and training in Project Management, Strategic Management and Business Analysis, Evaluation and Research, Internal and External Audit, Risk Management, and Financial Accounting. She has more than 20 years’ experience that span across multiple kaupapa Māori health providers, the health sector, the education sector (Te Wānanga o Aotearoa), and the corporate sector (Ernst and Young).
Alana is also the Treasurer for Te Kotahitanga Marae and Ngāti Tipa Lands Trust. She is a proud member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, Te Kotahitanga branch. Before commencing her role as the Director Māori Health Workforce at Waikato District Health Board Alana was their Funding and Relationship Manager Māori Health, Mental Health and Addictions in the Strategy and Funding team. Her work provides the opportunity and responsibility to drive change in the health sector in Aotearoa. She is passionate about all things Māori, particularly Māori health.
jana kite
secretary
Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto
Jana is one of five siblings who grew up in many different locations across Aotearoa, finally settling on the North Shore of Tāmaki Makaurau. She has kept in touch with her roots and heritage through kaupapa waka at Waitangi and by always being on her whenua in the far north. Jana was raised in a very matriarchal-minded whānau, a large immediate family with at least 70% being women. This upbringing gave her an overwhelming respect for womankind and all that they represent in this world as Te Whare Tangata. Jana believes that women are strong individuals with the drive and ability to achieve the unachievable in this world. She believes midwifery and women’s health holds the key to the support and advocacy of womanhood in a health context, and has always wanted to be a part of this.
After completing her Bachelor of Health Science at AUT in 2020 she commenced Self Employed LMC midwifery practice in Waitematā; which Jana says has been the most amazing and fulfilling experience. Jana looks forward to continuing to develop amazing relationships with whānau and to caring for Māori women and whānau with the aim to reduce health inequities and add to positive health outcomes.
Jana is one of five siblings who grew up in many different locations across Aotearoa, finally settling on the North Shore of Tāmaki Makaurau. She has kept in touch with her roots and heritage through kaupapa waka at Waitangi and by always being on her whenua in the far north. Jana was raised in a very matriarchal-minded whānau, a large immediate family with at least 70% being women. This upbringing gave her an overwhelming respect for womankind and all that they represent in this world as Te Whare Tangata. Jana believes that women are strong individuals with the drive and ability to achieve the unachievable in this world. She believes midwifery and women’s health holds the key to the support and advocacy of womanhood in a health context, and has always wanted to be a part of this.
After completing her Bachelor of Health Science at AUT in 2020 she commenced Self Employed LMC midwifery practice in Waitematā; which Jana says has been the most amazing and fulfilling experience. Jana looks forward to continuing to develop amazing relationships with whānau and to caring for Māori women and whānau with the aim to reduce health inequities and add to positive health outcomes.
lavinia mcgee-repia
kaumātua / PAKEKE
Ngatiwai, Kotimana
Lavinia resides in Tāmaki Makaurau and is a mother of seven tamariki, grandmother of 17 mokopuna, and great grandmother of four.She holds a Bachelor of Health Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Bi-Cultural Supervision (Kaitiakitanga). Lavinia is a Care and Protection Coordinator with Oranga Tamariki. Prior to this, she was the Maternal Wellbeing and Child Protection Service Coordinator at Auckland District Health Board, a Whānau Ora Kaiarahi at Manurewa Marae, and a residential home Team Leader with Oranga Tamariki.
Lavinia is dedicated to uplifting her communities. She is a Consumer Representative on the New Zealand College of Midwives Auckland Region Committee, the Chair of Ruapotaka Marae, and was the Whānau Representative on the Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau Board of Trustees and Committee. Lavinia is grateful to be associated with Te Wakahuia o Hine and a rōpū of wāhine toa, and shares this whakatauki with us all - ‘Ko tau kahuwai-ā-rangi hei whakaruruhau, ko koe hoki te hua o te kākanoi whakatōhia’‘Your mother’s positive, caring influences provide shelter for you the sacred seed that was nurtured within her’
our founding members
bev pownall
core staff midwife - nga hau māngere birthing centre
Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Kahungungu ki Wairarapa
Born in Whanganui, Bev lives in Tāmaki Makaurau. Graduating as a Registered Nurse in 1976, she worked as a Public Health Nurse in Patea, Taranaki and in Whanganui, then with NZ Defence Forces families stationed in Singapore. She became a midwife in London in 1996, returned to Aotearoa and then qualified as a Lactation Consultant in 1997.
Bev’s Masters degree focused on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). She is a BFHI Assessor. Bev was a member of Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau prior to the formation of Te Wakahuia o Hine. She is a member/past committee member of the Auckland Region of the New Zealand College of Midwives; a Board Member, Editor and Conference Convenor of the NZ Lactation Consultants Association; and served on committees/advisory groups for both the NZ Breastfeeding Alliance and Ministry of Health.
Bev works at Nga Hau Māngere Birthing Centre, providing midwifery care and skilled help with breastfeeding. She works closely with Māori, Pasifika and other Lead Maternity Care (LMC) Midwife colleagues who assist māmā to birth there. She enjoys watching whānau welcoming tamariki together and partners/supporters staying 24/7. Her aim is to facilitate the best possible whānau experience in a maternity facility; at the same time as providing a safe, nurturing environment for our Māori student midwives to learn.
Bev’s Masters degree focused on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). She is a BFHI Assessor. Bev was a member of Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau prior to the formation of Te Wakahuia o Hine. She is a member/past committee member of the Auckland Region of the New Zealand College of Midwives; a Board Member, Editor and Conference Convenor of the NZ Lactation Consultants Association; and served on committees/advisory groups for both the NZ Breastfeeding Alliance and Ministry of Health.
Bev works at Nga Hau Māngere Birthing Centre, providing midwifery care and skilled help with breastfeeding. She works closely with Māori, Pasifika and other Lead Maternity Care (LMC) Midwife colleagues who assist māmā to birth there. She enjoys watching whānau welcoming tamariki together and partners/supporters staying 24/7. Her aim is to facilitate the best possible whānau experience in a maternity facility; at the same time as providing a safe, nurturing environment for our Māori student midwives to learn.
lisa nathan
core staff midwife - AucklANd dhb
Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa
Lisa is of Māori and Cook Island Māori descent and resides in Tāmaki Makaurau where she was born and raised in the suburbs of Manukau, which she calls home. She is a proud mother of two who are aged six and 20 years old, and she has one mokopuna who is two years old, all of who inspire her every day.
Lisa is a registered Midwife in her new graduate year, and she is currently working at Auckland District Health Board as a core staff Midwife providing secondary care and protecting physiological birth. In her role she works in partnership whānau, encouraging and empowering them to be involved in all decision making throughout antepartum, labour, and postpartum care. She believes it is a blessing from a Māori perspective to work with hapū māmā, pēpi, and whānau, and to have the opportunity to share the uniqueness of Māori birthing practices using muka tie, mirimiri, rongoā, karakia, wahakura, and ipu whenua.
Lisa was a Student Representative on the Ngā Māia ki Tāmaki Makaurau Committee and is proud and very honoured to be a founding member of Te Wakahuia o Hine. She is also a proud member of Pasifika Midwives Aotearoa.
rikki gage
self employed lmc MIDWIFE - counties manukau
Ngāti Awa
Rikki resides in Tāmaki Makaurau, and is originally from Whakatane, Motiti Island, and Hauraki. She has three tamariki and is a busy māmā who has her sights set on becoming a Midwife. Rikki started her journey of re-education through Te Wānanga o Aōtearoa where she completed a Level 4 Certificate in Te Reo Māori. In 2016 at NZMA, she completed a Level 4 Certificate in Healthcare and Support. Rikki then used these experiences and learnings as her springboard into the Bachelor of Health Science Midwifery programme at AUT. She is now a proud New Graduate Midwife in her first year of practice. Whānau are her driving force and the reason why she chose to become part of the Māori midwifery workforce in Aotearoa.
Rikki was a member of Ngā Maia ki Tāmaki Makaurau since 2016 and was a second year Student Representative on the Committee. She is now a founding member of Te Wakahuia o Hine. Rikki is passionate about understanding and creating ways to improve Māori health, being able to work alongside whānau, iwi, and hapū, and continuing to advocate for and provide support to fellow Māori midwifery students.
become a member
Te Wakahuia o Hine is an inclusive organisation that values diversity and welcomes new members to enable the voices of whānau to be amplified through our organisation to effect positive change. If you are passionate about the future health and wellbeing of whānau and would like to contribute to our kaupapa please contact us.
The process for membership registration with Te Wakahuia o Hine, includes the following steps: - Complete the membership form. - Submit the completed membership form to tewakahuiaohine@gmail.com - Application reviewed by the Governance Board in consultation with the nominating members. - Applicant advised of decision. - Declined membership applications will be given an opportunity to respond, and for the membership application to be
reconsidered. - Approved membership applications will be provided with the membership payment instructions.