27 June 2025 | Tūpuna Parenting
A new report released today Taku Waipiataata, Taku Hei Tāwhiri - Cherishing Tamariki Through Tūpuna Child Rearing calls for a renewed commitment to gentle and respectful Māori parenting as a pathway to wellbeing for tamariki and whānau.
Commissioned by Tūpuna Parenting and produced in partnership with Te Manawahoukura Rangahau Centre, the report revisits and revitalises the foundational work of Helen Mountain Harte M.A. (1942-2019) and Professor Kuni Jenkins, whose 2011 literature review remains a cornerstone in the reclamation of traditional Māori childrearing practices.
Authored by Dr Joni Māramatanga Angeli-Gordon (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Te Roroa), Kairangahau Matua | Senior Research Fellow at Te Manawahoukura Rangahau Centre, the report traverses mātauranga Māori, pūrākau, proverbs, and parenting rituals to deepen our understanding of how Māori once nurtured their tamariki with gentleness, reverence and collective care.
At its heart, this report affirms that our tūpuna parented with aroha, care, and collective responsibility. The mātauranga they lived by remains a powerful source of guidance and transformation. Dr Angeli-Gordon shares
“This report supports Māori in remembering and affirming who we are as kind and gentle parents. By honouring the mana and tapu inherent in tamariki and embodying the ancestral ways of caring for their mauri (lifeforce), we can ensure that our mokopuna and the future generations thrive.”
He whakamaharatanga - In Remembrance
The release date holds a special significance for the Tūpuna Parenting team. “To launch the report on Mum’s birthday is incredibly meaningful,” says Elizabeth Emere Harte (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou), daughter of the late Helen Mountain Harte (pictured) and founder of Tūpuna Parenting.
“It is a privilege to uphold and advance the kaupapa that Mum was so passionate about, ensuring that our pēpi and tamariki are raised with the same love, strength, and respect that our tūpuna embodied.”
The report also honours early wahine Māori scholar Mākereti (Maggie) Papakura (1873–1930), whose writing over a century ago described the care and reverence shown to tamariki. In her 1911 article No One Smacks Māori Babies, she observed:
“The idea of beating a child, even a naughty child, is to me most terrible... for Māori children are never beaten.”
This sentiment is echoed in her 1938 book The Old-Time Māori, published posthumously from her Oxford thesis, which expands on Māori life and parenting. In June 2025, it was announced that Papakura will be posthumously awarded a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Anthropology by the University of Oxford, recognising her ground-breaking work.
The report is both a research milestone and a call to action - inviting whānau, communities, practitioners and policy makers to embrace ancestral parenting knowledge as a vital tool for healing and transformation.
In the Report
- Explores how pre-colonial whānau centred tamariki who were seen as tapu, with mana and mauri.
- Highlights collective responsibility for raising tamariki as a core Māori value.
- Shares mātauranga and tikanga from pūrākau, whakataukī and atua to guide child-rearing.
- Connects nurturing practices to spiritual concepts like tapu, ihi, and wehi.
- Calls for the revitalisation of tūpuna parenting as a living force in the world.
For media, partnership, or interview enquiries
Dr Joni Angeli-Gordon
Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Te Roroa
Kairangahau Matua | Senior Research Fellow at Te Manawahoukura Rangahau Centre
P: 0211336818
E: joni.angeli-gordon@temanawahoukura.org.nz
Elizabeth Emere Harte
Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou
Founder Tūpuna Parenting
P: 021 033 4224
E: elizabeth.harte@tupunaparenting.maori.nz
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