More than 700 Indigenous researchers, clinicians and advocates gathered in Tāmaki Makaurau this week for the World Indigenous Cancer Conference (WICC), focusing on how cancer is affecting Indigenous peoples and Indigenous-led responses.
Indigenous leaders from Aotearoa, Australia, Canada, the United States, Hawaiʻi and the Pacific shared knowledge on cancer care, research and wellbeing.
More than 180 speakers covered topics including access to services, Indigenous research methods, screening, palliative care, and the use of mātauranga Māori and whenua-based approaches in health.
“Ko te kaupapa o tō tātau nei hui ko te mate pukupuku. He ngārara tino nui i roto i ngā iwi taketake puta noa i te ao,” says Dr Kimiora Henare, a convener of the WICC.
In Aotearoa, Māori continue to experience higher cancer rates. In 2022–2023, incidence was around 410–430 per 100,000 for Māori compared with 350–360 for non-Māori, according to Te Whatu Ora data. Māori make up about 18% of the population but nearly 20% of cancer diagnoses.
Te pānga o te āhuarangi ki te hauora o te tangata
Dr Henare has attended the biennial event since it began in 2016. He has worked in cancer research and Indigenous health for more than a decade, and says he is still learning new things. One of his key takeaways was the impact of climate change on hauora.
“It was really great to hear Rhys Jones put into context climate change, and the connection to cancer,” he says.
“They were talking about the general impact of that climate change is impacting our weather system. Although he described the benefits of addressing climate change rather than necessarily the detriment of it.”
He rongoā anō mō te mate pukupuku
Jaycee Tipene-Thomas of Hohou Te Rongoā, a Māori healing service in Te Tai Tokerau, says Indigenous approaches focus on the whole person, not just the disease.
“Rongoa Māori isn’t just mirimiri or panipiri - it’s a tailored approach for our people to help them through, to awhi them through all the different types of ailments, including cancer,” she explains.
“We recognise that sometimes modern illnesses need modern intervention. But a multi-dimension approach, like what we’re doing here today, is really really important, so that we can cover all the bases.”
Since January, Tipene-Thomas says Hohou Te Rongoā has worked with seven whānau with cancer in Te Tai Tokerau, focusing on overall wellbeing alongside clinical care.
“We’re supporting whānau through different levels of cancer. There is a rongoā for every type of cancer and I’m not saying it’s a complete cure. However, within our mahi it’s not just [a] one size fits all.”
“But what we do is find a particular rongoā that can support the overall wellbeing of our tangata who are experiencing cancer and whatever shape will form.”
Tohunga Rongoā Tohe Ashby says the focus should shift toward healing and wellbeing.
“Kia huri tērā ingoa ki te hā o te ora. [Te] pai ka taea e rātau te hakahuri, ko te painga mā rātau.”
He ngārara nui i waenga i ngā iwi taketake o te ao
Kristika Kumar, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner, says culturally safe, community-led care is essential.
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a cancer incidence of around 500 per 100,000 and a mortality rate of about 250 per 100,000 compared with 420 and 170 for non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW, latest comparable national estimates).
“We wanted to come over here to represent our people - [to] privilege their voices, to privilege our Aboriginal ways of knowing being and doing,” she adds.
“A lot of people don’t feel safe to go to mainstream services, so what we do is we can take our services to the community, to our mobs so they feel safe, to make sure they are accessing healthcare needs.”
Te Ururoa Flavell, was one of many mōrehu who were there, sharing their lived experience with mate pukupuku.
“Ko te mate kē, ka rongo te ao Māori ki tēnei mea te cancer, ka mataku, ka parea ki te taha, ka keria ki te rua,” he says.
“Ko te tino kaupapa, kei te kōrerohia te kaupapa i konei, me te tūponotanga ia ka puta ki te whaiao ki te ao mārama kia kaua tatau e mataku ki te kōrero mō tēnei ngārara.”
‘Me whai pūtea ngā ratonga hauora Māori’
Hūhana Lyndon, health spokesperson for the Green Party, says health outcomes are shaped by wider systems, not just individual behaviour or treatment.
“Me tiro ki te whānuitanga, me kī ki te ora o te whānau tonu ki te hāpai, ki te tauawhi i a rātau mō te taha rongoā, āe tika ana, mō te tinana, engari ki te taha hinengaro, ki te ora o te wairua.”
She hopeful for increased funding in this year’s Budget.
“E tino tautoko ana i tērā kaupapa o Te Aka Whaiora, ngā iwi Māori Partnerships, ngā poari hauora kei konei, me te whakapiki ake i te pūtea mō ngā rata, mō ngā nāhi me ngā ratonga Māori.”
Ultimately, many Indigenous leaders say the most important solution is self-determination in health.
“Ko te mea nui, kia kaha mātau i [[roto i] a mātau mana motuhake, i roto i wēnei kaupapa. Koinā te tino rongoā,” Henare says.
The next WICC will take place in 2028.
