462.    Te taha wairua in Te Whare Tapa Whā and the spiritual pou in the Fonofale model both represent the spiritual dimension of wellbeing. In Te Whare Tapa Whā to know yourself and to establish and maintain a connection to your wairua, soul or spirit, is the starting point of spiritual health.^[1013] Te taha wairua also includes a person’s mauri or life force.^[1014] Spirituality relates to all aspects of life – how a person connects with their mauri but also how that connection is affected by others and the environment.^[1015] In the Fonofale model, the spiritual pou is defined as a sense of wellbeing that stems from a belief system, which may be a religious belief system, a traditional spirituality relating to nature, spirits, language, beliefs, ancestors and history, or a combination of both.^[1016]

463.    Survivors’ spirituality and identity were not provided for at Lake Alice and for some this deeply affected their understanding of who they are and their sense of belonging in the world. For example, Ms Debbie Dickson said:

“I always feel like I’m always intruding in situations that I’m not supposed to be in. I avoid work functions and socialising. I think this stems from Lake Alice and being forced to isolate to keep safe. I don’t know where I belong.”^[1017]

464.    Some survivors told us part of their healing later in life was learning to accept who they were and what had happened to them in the child and adolescent unit at Lake Alice. For example, Mr CC said that by working with a counsellor he had been able to start to come to terms with the abuse he had suffered at Lake Alice (and elsewhere) and the abuse he had perpetrated on others.

“Over the time I spent in prison I was able to look back over my life and relationships and I went through a process of forgiveness and became quite accepting of what had happened and who I was. I really accepted who I am, what I had had to go through and what I wanted to do from now on … When I was released from Paremoremo [a prison] in 1990 I was approached by a Māori elder to see if I could operate a programme under the Māori Mental Health Services. In prison I had learnt the skill of being able to make a cane basket and so I was employed … to set up this programme at [a hospital]. I spent three years there as a craft instructor.”^[1018]

465.    Some survivors told us their faith had helped them to recover from what happened at Lake Alice. For example, Mr Hake Halo said, “My faith has really helped me move on from what happened to me and continues to help me”.^[1019] Mr Walton Mathieson-Ngatai said support from his church helped him to address his addictions. “I like socialising with my friends at Church. My faith has helped me to give up drugs and alcohol. I was drinking too much, and I had to give up.”^[1020]

466.    In its Hauora report, the Waitangi Tribunal said that under the principle of options, the Crown had a duty under the Treaty of Waitangi to support health services that offered meaningful choices to Māori, including by ensuring those services accommodated and incorporated tikanga Māori.^[1021] Māori spirituality was “important to wellbeing and healing”, but was not incorporated into mental health perspectives and care at Lake Alice.^[1022]

“In te ao Māori there are the spiritual aspects, the wairua aspects, making sure that those are incorporated. When I look back I think there’s a loss of that as well for our whānau, a big loss. Because for me it’s not just about, well if we know whakapapa is a part of it but it’s that connection to te ao Māori, that connection to our ancestors and their spirituality and the mauri they hold and the mana they hold, and all of those.”^[1023]

467.    Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa reported that the lack of knowledge and inclusion of taha wairua in mental health treatment at Lake Alice led to survivors being over-medicated, labelled evil and sick, and further punished. One whānau of matakite noted how their whānau member stopped talking to his medical team about what he saw and experienced at the hospital as it only led to further punishment.^[1024] Matakite is a Māori term for an experience of heightened intuition.^[1025] Matakite can include seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling things that cannot be perceived by others.^[1026] The tribunal noted how survivors, as well as whānau and community members, “internalised” Western perspectives of mental health and “started viewing Lake Alice as the ‘looney bin’, which increased the isolation of tangata whaiora, and judgement upon them and their whānau”.^[1027]

“He went through every possible church that he could go to ’cause he believed that he must be evil because they used to use that term on him too if I recall, from what my brother used to say. I said, “So why do you say you’re evil?” “Oh, ’cause I am. I’m evil. I’m evil and I’m crazy.”^[1028]

468.    Whānau of survivors and former Lake Alice staff noted the stories of the abuse occurring at Lake Alice would have potentially discouraged others from seeking support that might have resulted in a stay at the hospital.^[1029] They also reported that the impact of the hospital, and what occurred there, is compounded by the fact people from across the country, Māori and non-Māori, were harmed at a location in their rohe.^[1030] This raised significant concerns for them about the difficulty of healing the whenua.^[1031] Tāngata whaiora, their whānau and staff spoke about the unhealthy wairua of the buildings at Lake Alice, describing the hospital as dark, filled with unhealthy energy and spirits.^[1032]

“Mm. And when I went there I could feel that, that spiritual mamae what kids went through and I could feel there was something in Lake Alice … just something that I could pick up.”^[1033]

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