'hāpai te hauora’ - ‘it’s like breathing your ancestors into life.'

Rangatahi described ‘hāpai te hauora’ as ‘breathing your ancestors into life’. This paper explores the ways rangatahi Māori make sense of and live ‘hāpai te hauora’ through sharing their stories of navigating wellbeing.Twenty rangatahi Māori (16–20 years) from diverse backgrounds living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand) were interviewed by Māori researchers. From the resulting rich and insightful data, short pūrākau (narratives) were analysed at a wānanga involving 34 rangatahi to further explore key findings and expressions of wellbeing through art, design and co-creation.Findings indicate that rangatahi Māori know and experience hauora as living shared values. They search for safe spaces, both human and environmental, to grow, challenge and express who they are and who they want to be. Distinctions were consistently made between their own lived culture and the dominant colonial culture. Rangatahi Māori described a yearning to be seen, heard and sovereign just as they are.