Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2022, First published online, 1 May 2022

Mokopuna Māori and their whānau have the right to be involved meaningfully in the health and disability system, through genuine commitments to participation and self-determination. This Kaupapa Māori qualitative study explored mokopuna Māori concepts of wellbeing in relation to health and disability services, contextualised within broader tāngata whenua rights to health and wellbeing, and continued Crown failure to recognise these rights. Informed by a Kaupapa Māori research paradigm privileging worldviews and experiential knowledge of mokopuna Māori, we carried out focus group interviews with 26 mokopuna aged 6 to 13 years. Using thematic analyses we identified ten themes from the data analysis: (1) Aro ki te hā; (2) Kupu; (3) Mātauranga; (4) Mauri; (5) Utu; (6) Mana motuhake; (7) Hau Ora; (8) Kaitiakitanga; (9) Ūkaipō; and (10) Tika. The narratives of mokopuna Māori in this study reaffirm the critical importance of recognising mokopuna as knowledge holders, creators, and makers of meaning to participate in, and articulate their views on, their own wellbeing, their environments, and other matters important to them. Privileging their views and perspectives supports mokopuna to navigate their own processes of self-determination and sovereignty for themselves, their whānau and their communities. (Authors' abstract). Record #7639