In the 1860’s, over 100 years before the world would coin the term ‘harm reduction’, Māori created Māori Wardens, whose role it was to support our own people to avoid some of the worst harms of alcohol, which had been introduced by colonizers.

Fast forward to the 2020’s and, thanks to expert linguist Keri Opai ((Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Waiohua, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Porou), with the support of the NZ Drug Foundation, new de-stigmatising Māori words and terms have been created to describe both drugs and harm reduction:

- Drugs: Kai Whakapiri, meaning 'something a person consumes in the pursuit of connection'
- Harm Reduction: Whkakiti Pāmamae, meeaning 'to make harm small'

And together Te Rau Ora and the NZ Drug Foundation have created a set of Māori values to inform mainstream/all harm reduction practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We believe and posit that an Indigenous-led approach to harm reduction benefits us all. And that without an Indigenous-led approach, further harm is done to Indigenous Peoples.

We will outline the history of harm reduction in New Zealand from an Indigenous perspective, explain the creation of the new Māori words for drugs and harm reduction, and offer insights into partnering with Indigenous Peoples to develop an approach to harm reduction to serve everyone.
And in doing so challenge the dominant narrative of harm reduction's history and narrative, asking the question: did Indigenous People create harm reduction first.

Indigenous-informed harm reduction stands to benefit all people who use drugs.

Tuari Potiki is the main presenter of this abstract.