Indigenous Peoples have a rich and long-standing connection with the environments that they descend from—a connection that has informed a deep and multifaceted understanding of the relationship between human well-being and the environment. Through cultural narratives and practices, much of this knowledge has endured despite the ongoing effects that colonization has had on many Indigenous peoples across the world.

The connection between the natural environment and human health is well documented in Indigenous narratives. The maramataka—a Māori system of observing the relationships between signs, rhythms, and cycles in the environment—is underpinned by generations of Indigenous knowledge, observation, and experimentation. The maramataka enabled Māori and our Pacific relatives to attune with the movements of the environment and ensure activities essential for survival and well-being were conducted at the optimal times. A recent revival of the maramataka in various communities in New Zealand is providing uniquely Indigenous ways to ‘reconnect’ people, and their health, with the natural environment. In a world where people have become increasingly disconnected from the natural environment, the maramataka offers an alternative to dominant perspectives of health. It also provides a mechanism to enhance the many facets of health through an understanding of the human–ecosystem relationship in a uniquely Indigenous way. This conceptual paper (i) highlights a uniquely Indigenous way of understanding the environment (the maramataka) and its connection to health, (ii) discusses the connections between the maramataka and scientific research on health and the environment, and (iii) introduces current and potential applications of the maramataka in improving health and well-being.

Indigenous health interventions have emerged in New Zealand aimed at increasing people's interactions with and exposure to macro and microbial diversity. Urban greenspaces provide opportunities for people to gain such exposures. However, the dynamics and pathways of microbial transfer from natural environments onto a person remain poorly understood. Here, we analysed bacterial 16S rRNA amplicons in air samples (n = 7) and pre- and post-exposure nasal samples (n = 238) from 35 participants who had 30-min exposures in an outdoor park. The participants were organised into two groups: over eight days each group had two outdoor park exposures and two indoor office exposures, with a cross-over study design and washout days between exposure days. We investigated the effects of participant group, location (outdoor park vs. indoor office), and exposures (pre vs. post) on the nasal bacterial community composition and three key suspected health-associated bacterial indicators (alpha diversity, generic diversity of Gammaproteobacteria, and read abundances of butyrate-producing bacteria). The participants had distinct nasal bacterial communities, but these communities did not display notable shifts in composition following exposures. The community composition and key health bacterial indicators were stable throughout the trial period, with no clear or consistent effects of group, location, or exposure. We conclude that 30-min exposure periods to urban greenspaces are unlikely to create notable changes in the nasal microbiome of visitors, which contrasts with previous research. Our results suggest that longer exposures or activities that involves closer interaction with microbial rich ecological components (e.g., soil) are required for greenspace exposures to result in noteworthy changes in the nasal microbiome.

Compelling evidence continues to demonstrate that racism is a modifiable determinant of health inequities. Despite growing recognition of this it is less clear how from a human resource perspective to engage in effective anti-racism. Through a review of human resource and anti-racism literature, the white, Indigenous and racialised authors examined existing approaches to anti-racism applicable to the health system in Aotearoa. Two systemic organisational approaches were identified: diversity training and dismantling institutional racism. Recruitment processes, talent management and retention were human resource specific sites for interventions. Insights from anti-racism scholarship including upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi and engaging in decolonising to enable transformative change. Power-sharing remains at the heart of anti-racism praxis. A health sector response needs to be co-created with Māori and those with the political will to enable transformation. Given racism has a geographic specificity, solutions need to be informed by the cultural, political, social, and historical context.

This article outlines the use of a novel research method, Korikori Kōrero , with a group of physically active Māori women. The research aimed to identify common traits or ways of knowing and being, by engaging with Māori women in their chosen physical activities and preferred environments. Korikori Kōrero draws from both Indigenous and Euro‐Western research methodologies to ultimately bring the research relationship and associated power dynamic into balance. Māori women have experienced an exaggerated imbalance of power resulting from the patriarchal dominance of colonisation, and their contemporary realities often reflect this. However, it was the intention of this research and method, to privilege the stories of Māori women, successful in navigating contemporary realities – through physical activity, a known protective health behaviour. This article will share the rationale behind this novel mobile method; how it was implemented; and its relevance in generating an understanding of physically active Māori women. Glossary of Māori words: mātauranga: Māori knowledges, processes of learning; kanohi kitea: the seen face; whakapapa: genealogy and background; whakawhanaungatanga: connectedness and building relationships; wānanga: gathering or a meeting where there is an exchange of knowledge; Hinetuākiri, Hineuku, and Papatūānuku: Māori feminine deities connected to the earth (gravel, clay, earth); hongi: Māori greeting/gesture demonstrated by pressing noses and sharing breath; whanaungatanga: established connections/relationships; wahine/wāhine: woman/women; mana: authority; tikanga: cultural practices; mihi: introductions, acknowledgements; whanau: immediate and extended family; toa: relates to strength, skillfullness; teina: younger sibling or less experienced; tuakana: older sibling or more experienced; Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga: the opening lines of a popular karakia, translates to: Cease oh winds of the west and of the south; karakia: incantation, prayer, ritual chant; te taiao: the natural environment; maunga: mountain; korikori tinana ā tinana: physical activity in person.