hono

The Māori Emergency Management Network

Emergencies and disasters – whether human-made or from natural hazards – are becoming more frequent and severe, impacting lives, communities, and the environment at an unprecedented scale. For Māori, these events pose unique challenges, threatening not only our people but also our taonga (treasures), taiao (environment), and cultural heritage. However, within these challenges lie opportunities to lead, innovate, and embed our mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and tikanga (cultural practices/societal lore) into the heart of emergency and disaster management.

hono is our (Ahikaea and TTW) response to these pressing needs. It is more than a framework, it is a movement to empower Māori communities to stand at the forefront of disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience.

Tā Mātou Moemoeā | Our Vision

A world where Indigenous wisdom and self-determination drive resilience, protect people and the environment, and inspire global solidarity in the face of disaster.

Tā Mātou Whakatakanga | Our Mission

To develop and sustain a Māori Emergency Management Network (local, regional and national), rooted in mātauranga and tikanga Māori, that empowers Māori leadership, builds capacity and capability, drives research and innovation, and fosters collaboration at whānau, hapū, marae and community levels to ensure culturally grounded and equitable responses to emergencies and disasters are resourced and supported.

We will advance Indigenous knowledge and create new solutions, to protect our people, taonga, and whenua while championing equitable and effective emergency and disaster management locally and globally.

Ko Wai Mātou | Who Are We

hono, the Māori Emergency Management Network is a collective of Māori leaders, practitioners, and communities committed to achieving tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) in emergency and disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi and underpinned by Māori knowledge and approaches, the Network addresses the unique strengths and vulnerabilities of Māori communities in the face of sudden onset disasters (natural, accidental, climate-related, and humanitarian).

hono exists to advocate for equity in disaster and emergency management to support the development of Māori-led emergency management plans and practices, deliver training, research and support that grows future leaders, and prepares Māori communities to participate in the designing of emergency and disaster management approaches that safeguard their people, places and practices from future emergencies and crises.

Beyond supporting local resilience, the Network aims to extend its reach to assist in humanitarian disasters internationally, sharing Indigenous knowledge and practices to support other Indigenous peoples on their lands.

hono is hosted by Ahikaea Ltd at Massey University Wellington Campus and located adjacent to the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Building T27 between entrances E and F on Tasman Street. Hono training rooms are immediately next to the Ahikaea Offices with capacity to comfortably train up to 60 attendees at a time. Hono is managed by both Ahikaea Ltd and Te Tira Whakamātaki Ltd.

"Moea tō poi,
moea tō taiaha"

Te Āti Awa whakatauki

"Sleep with your poi,
sleep with your taiaha"

Be ready for any challenge and expect the unexpected

Tā Mātou Take | Our Why

Several recent events have highlighted the exposure of Māori to extreme weather and with events such as Cyclone Gabrielle predicted to increase in frequency and intensity, we must take responsibility for better preparing for future events as well as strategising to recover quicker and more sustainably.

Report after report (the latest led by Tā Jerry Mateparae) reiterate the key role that Māori institutions such as marae and kura have in supporting those who have to evacuate their homes and communities. Earlier research we have done on the impacts of the Ōtautahi earthquakes on Māori confirm how important a culturally-framed response and recovery is for our people.

Research is important but so is community-engaged training for future events. We are engaging with Indigenous first responders (nationally and internationally) and community leaders to build a network of professional, motivated individuals and groups who simply want better outcomes for whānau.

Ā Mātou Whāinga | Our Objectives

Promote Tino Rangatiratanga: Advocate for policies and practices that enable self-determination of local communities in emergency and disaster responses, ensuring alignment with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Strengthening Leadership: Empowering culturally grounded Māori leaders to guide emergency and disaster responses, recovery, and decision-making, via local, regional and national coordination centres, in mana-enhancing ways.

Building Capacity and Capability: Grow a cohort of Māori emergency and disaster leaders while equipping communities with the skills, resources, and tools needed for effective emergency and disaster preparedness, response and resilience. Ensuring rangatahi apōpō (future generations) see themselves in emergency management, science and research.

Establish Māori Regional Response Teams: Train teams to effectively and safely respond to immediate risks from sudden onset disasters, coordinating the escalating response and recovery needs in ways that uphold the mana of local hapū, marae, Iwi and their surrounding communities.

Driving Research and Innovation: Integrate mātauranga Māori with cutting-edge research and technology to create new solutions for disaster management.

Ensuring Cultural Integrity: Embed tikanga and protect taonga, sacred sites, and cultural practices in all disaster-related efforts.

Fostering Collaboration: Build meaningful partnerships between Māori communities, government agencies, private entities, non-Māori communities, and emergency services, to ensure culturally informed responses and better outcomes for all.

Enhance Community Security and Protection: Foster Māori-led security efforts during and after disaster events, ensuring the safety of people, property and taonga through coordinated actions that maintain order and uphold tikanga Māori.

Develop Indigenous HADR: Examine the feasibility to building and managing a ready to respond Māori humanitarian disaster relief force to meet the critical needs of Indigenous victims of conflict, disaster, famine, and epidemics across the planet, with a specific focus on the Pacific.