© Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 10(1) 2012 27 Abstract This article reports and discusses the perceptions that kuia (older Māori female or grandmother) have of their health and, how their connections to marae (place and space, often consisting of a collection of buildings and in many instances considered to be the physical embodiment of ancestors) influence these perceptions. The research was undertaken and driven by a group of Māori communities through their individual marae (6) and hapū (sub-tribe/extended family), and provides the data source for this paper. The study involved quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) methods with data collected from over 350 Māori participants; half of these were Māori women. Information and data relating to kuia have been extracted from the quantitative survey and their views and perspectives from a focus group session are discussed in this paper. Drawing from these two sources not only confirmed what earlier research and literature asserted – that kuia have significant influence in their whānau (family/extended family), hapū (sub- tribe/extended family) and iwi (tribe/people) — it showed that kuia particularly endorse the idea of marae “place and space” being living, breathing, entities, and the focal point of the community; being a location for the provision of health services would be an extension of this. Having health services provided on the marae along with other activities is likely to have positive effects and bring whānau back to the marae. Key words: Māori, Aotearoa, marae, kuia, health, space, place * Annemarie and Shirley would like to acknowledge the kuia who par- ticipated in this research, they gave their time, knowledge and hu- mour to help us further our understanding of the impact of marae on their lives. Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa. Māori kuia in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Perceptions of Marae and How Marae Affects their Health Dr. Annemarie Gillies; Dr. Shirley Barnett Research Contributions from Whānau and Hapū In 2005, Dr Gillies obtained funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, on be- half of Ngā Kairauhii Inc. a Māori health provider representing six affiliated marae in the Heretaunga (Hastings) region. The research project was designed and implemented by whānau researchers. Our in- volvement has been in an advisory capacity both as members of the whānau and as researchers. A re- port was written and findings were reported back to whānau at a hui at Waimarama marae. Ngā Kairauhii are currently looking at pathways for im- plementation alongside the nationwide Whānau Ora strategy. Introduction This paper presents kuia Māori voices in relation to marae as a place and space, a venue or space where Māori woman can give expression to health and wellbeing through their connection to their environ- ment. In this paper their named environment is the marae and includes the streams and rivers, moun- tains and bush; that not only physically weave in and out of the boundaries of various marae environs, but also weave spiritual and mental bonds to places and spaces. For Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand these mind and body connections and re- connections are manifest in whānau, hapū, and iwi groupings — the genealogical ties between the land and the people are interrelated and linked. Information and data relating to kuia have been extracted from both the quantitative survey and a focus group session and form the basis of this paper. In particular, the focus group sessions with these kuia