This article explores the development of Māori and Indigenous frameworks of resilience, considering the impact of engaging with largely State-led notions of resilience on Māori development. We highlight the closely linked notion of resistance, asserting the necessity of a fi rm political analysis from Indigenous researchers engaged in this discourse. One of the Indigenous criticisms of resilience theories is that by defi nition they assume an acceptance of responsibility for our position as disadvantaged individuals.

This paper addresses two objectives; first, to explore whether the concept of resilience, as described in the international literature, has resonance in the New Zealand Indigenous context; and second, to discuss the link between the concept of resilience and the Māori concept of whānau ora. The paper draws on findings from a qualitative study that utilised a single case study design. Data collection methods for the full study included a comprehensive literature review, organisational document review, conceptual framework development, in-depth key informant interviews and sequential focus groups with health service consumers.

This research explored the capacity of whānau to overcome adversity, flourish and enjoy better health and well-being. It considers the multiple ways in which whānau contribute to the development of its members and the various mechanisms employed to foster growth and security. While external factors, internal dynamics, and financial pressures often constrain capacity, whānau have nevertheless demonstrated an innate ability to respond to these challenges, to make use of limited resources, and to react in positive and innovative ways. A thematic analysis of whānau cohorts and expert responses detailed the components of whānau responses to adversity, and therefore whānau resilience.

This article focuses on the cultural resources that made Māori carers resilient when providing care to an ill family member at the end of life. Caring often took place against a backdrop of poverty, personal factors, racism and a lack of health literacy affecting access to resources. The action values of aroha and manaakitanga, compassionate giving, caring, receiving and sharing established a resilient foundation upon which whānau engaged in the illness-to-death trajectory. It served to fortify the dying and their whānau and provided a sense of belonging and a meaningful way of engaging with illness, dying, death and bereavement.

Throughout history, indigenous peoples have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of significant adversity with this being demonstrated in the response of indigenous peoples to HIV, one of the greatest threats to health and well-being faced by people and communities today. High rates of HIV infection, combined with signifi cant social determinants of health, intensify and compound the vulnerability of indigenous peoples and communities to HIV. Evidence shows that indigenous peoples in some countries have been disproportionately affected by HIV and suffer from significant disparities related to high rates of chronic conditions, including long-term HIV infection.

The disastrous earthquakes that struck Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 seriously impacted on the individual and collective lives of Māori residents. This paper continues earlier, predominantly qualitative research on the immediate effects on Māori by presenting an analysis of a survey carried out 18 months after the most destructive event, on 22 February 2011. Using a set-theoretic approach, pathways to Māori resilience are identified, emphasising the combination of whānau connectivity and high incomes in those who have maintained or increased their wellbeing postdisaster.