Eruera Keepa: The Māori Leader Behind Culture, Health and Community Work
From kapa haka and sport to Māori engagement, iwi governance and health advocacy, Eruera Keepa has built a public career closely tied to culture, whānau and community.
Introduction
Eruera Keepa has worked across several fields.
His story starts with culture. It also runs through education, communication, sport, Māori health and iwi leadership.
Actually, these areas often connect.
He has worked with Māori communities, government organisations and private groups. He also founded his own consultancy and has remained active in kaupapa connected with his late sister, Talei Morrison.
There is plenty to cover.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Eruera Wikiriwhi Keepa |
| Known As | Eruera Keepa |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Iwi Connections | Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Whakaue |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts, University of Waikato |
| Profession | Māori consultant and cultural adviser |
| Business | Hīkina Consultancy |
| Governance Role | Ngāti Rārua trustee |
| Health Work | Smear Your Mea |
| Kapa Haka | Te Mātārae i Ōrehu |
| Sports | Bodybuilding, waka ama and cycling |
| Father | Wiremu Keepa |
| Mother | Professor Sandy Morrison |
| Sister | Late Talei Morrison |
| Brother | Mataia Keepa |
Who Is Eruera Keepa?
Eruera Keepa is a New Zealand Māori consultant, cultural adviser and community advocate.
He is linked with Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Whakaue.
Much of his professional work centres on Māori engagement.
That means something very practical.
He works around Māori culture, language, relationships and community needs while helping organisations communicate and work better with Māori.
His career has included education, sport, communications and government engagement.
He later started Hīkina Consultancy.
He also became closely involved with Smear Your Mea, the cervical screening campaign started by his older sister, Talei Morrison.
Sport has stayed important too.
Kapa haka, bodybuilding, waka ama and cycling all appear in his public story.
Whakapapa and Cultural Background
Culture shaped his early life.
Keepa has spoken publicly about growing up around Māori education and kaupapa Māori thinking.
Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori were part of that experience.
He has also talked about seeing whānau work hard to build Māori learning spaces.
That mattered later.
His professional work often comes back to whakapapa, tikanga, language and relationships.
Basically, those ideas were already familiar.
They were part of everyday life.
His publicly listed iwi links include Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Whakaue.
These connections also appear through his later iwi and cultural work.
Education
Keepa studied at the University of Waikato.
Official university records list his full name as Eruera Wikiriwhi Keepa.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts.
The degree was formally conferred in December 2012.
His later professional information also lists further study connected with te reo Māori.
Te reo has remained central.
His public professional profile describes his Māori-language ability at a native or bilingual level.
That skill is visible everywhere.
It appears in cultural advice, public communication, creative work and professional engagement.
Early Career
His career did not start in consulting.
At first, he worked in sport.
He spent several years with Sport Waikato.
The role involved Māori communities and young people.
He later worked with New Zealand’s Ministry of Education.
That brought another angle.
The work involved schools, community needs and access to suitable programmes and support.
Then communications entered the picture.
After moving to Tauranga Moana, he worked in the public relations and communications sector.
He became a cultural adviser at Campbell Squared.
During that period, he also wrote about Māori language, Matariki, Māori names and haka.
The pattern was already clear.
Culture and communication kept meeting.
Starting Hīkina Consultancy
In 2019, Keepa started Hīkina Consultancy.
The related company, Hīkina Limited, was registered in November 2019.
He is listed as its director.
The consultancy focuses on Māori engagement and cultural advice.
Its work helps organisations understand Māori perspectives, relationships and communication practices.
That can involve public agencies.
It can involve private organisations too.
One documented project involved the Karawhiua website during the COVID-19 period.
Hīkina provided advice about reaching Māori audiences and understanding barriers that could stop people from engaging with health information.
This kind of work fits his wider career.
It mixes communication with cultural knowledge.
Work With New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry
Keepa has also worked with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, known as Manatū Aorere.
Official ministry material records him as a Māori Engagement Lead within its Mātauranga Māori Programme.
His work included Māori engagement planning.
He also helped with partnership frameworks.
The role covered relationships between the ministry and Māori communities.
It was a serious public-sector assignment.
Ministry material also pictured him among staff attending the Koroneihana at Tūrangawaewae Marae in 2022.
His past work with the ministry is well documented.
His exact employment position in 2026 is less clear from current public records, so it should not be treated as a confirmed current job title.
Ngāti Rārua Trustee
Iwi governance is another part of his work.
Keepa serves as a Ngāti Rārua trustee.
Ngāti Rārua’s 2025 annual reporting names him among its trustees.
A specialist iwi governance record updated in April 2026 also continued to list him in that role.
This puts him inside formal iwi governance.
The work is different from consulting.
Here, the responsibility sits directly with iwi interests, governance and long-term community decisions.
The Story Behind Smear Your Mea
This part is deeply personal.
Eruera’s older sister, Talei Morrison, was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
She later started Smear Your Mea.
The campaign encouraged women to get cervical screening, with a strong focus on wāhine Māori.
Talei died in June 2018.
Her whānau kept the work going.
Eruera became one of the main people carrying that message forward.
He later served as chair of the Smear Your Mea Trust.
The campaign tried to make screening conversations safer and easier for Māori women.
That meant going directly into communities.
Kapa haka events became important spaces.
So did public health partnerships.
The campaign also raised questions about how health services communicate with Māori communities.
Keepa took part in that public discussion.
Māori Health Advocacy
His work with Smear Your Mea reached government policy discussions.
In 2019, he presented to the Māori Affairs Select Committee during an inquiry into health inequities affecting Māori.
The campaign argued for changes around cervical screening and cultural safety.
This was more than awareness work.
It entered policy territory.
Keepa also publicly pushed for Māori-led organisations to have a stronger voice in programmes aimed at Māori communities.
That view came directly from his health advocacy work.
The message was pretty simple.
Community trust matters.
Ride for Talei
Cycling became part of the campaign.
The Ride for Talei was created to carry Talei Morrison’s message across New Zealand.
In 2019, riders travelled toward Wellington while promoting cervical screening.
Eruera took part.
Another major ride followed in 2023.
That journey covered roughly 800 kilometres from Wellington to Auckland around the time of Te Matatini.
The ride returned again.
A 2025 project report still listed him among the riders.
So the campaign has lasted.
It remains tied to family, health and remembrance.
Kapa Haka
Kapa haka has been part of his life for years.
Keepa performed with Te Mātārae i Ōrehu, a respected Rotorua-based kapa haka group.
He was publicly documented preparing with the group for Te Matatini in 2013.
The training was demanding.
Fitness mattered heavily.
He was again connected with the group during Te Matatini in 2017.
His involvement goes beyond performance.
His professional history also lists work with the Te Arawa Kapa Haka Sports Day, often called Taini Town.
The event honours kapa haka figure Taini Morrison.
Bodybuilding
Then came bodybuilding.
This part surprises people.
In 2017, Keepa trained for a bodybuilding competition while also preparing for Te Matatini.
That meant two very different kinds of performance training at once.
Official IFBB results list him first in the Novice Men 90–100 kg category.
He had spent around 15 weeks preparing specifically for bodybuilding.
His sporting background helped.
But it was still a new test.
Te Ao Māori News also reported his win and highlighted the Māori values that shaped his approach to training.
Waka Ama
Waka ama appears earlier in his sporting record.
Official Waka Ama New Zealand records list him competing with his brother Mataia.
They raced with the Te Toki Hillbillies in a junior men’s team.
Other records show Eruera competing in individual waka racing as well.
His professional profile also links him with the Te Toki Voyaging Trust.
This gives another piece of the picture.
Physical activity has never been one short phase.
It has run through different parts of his life.
Rugby League
Rugby league also appears in his public professional history.
His profile lists involvement with the Hamilton City Tigers Rugby League Club.
He has previously listed a club captain role.
Public records do not clearly prove that he still holds that exact position in 2026.
So it is safer to describe this as past or listed involvement.
Creative and Cultural Work
His cultural work has reached music too.
During New Zealand’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, musicians worked together on the song Stay – Tūtahi.
The project encouraged people to stay home.
Keepa and musician Rob Ruha were credited as te reo Māori consultants.
The project included major New Zealand artists.
This was another form of cultural work.
Different setting. Same skills.
Language, meaning and communication.
Awards and Recognition
Some of his work has received formal recognition.
Smear Your Mea received the Hiwa i te Rangi Award for Community at the 2019 Matariki Awards.
The honour recognised the campaign rather than Eruera alone.
That distinction matters.
In 2020, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recognised work connected with Smear Your Mea through its Māori Women’s Health Award.
Eruera Keepa was named alongside Professor Bev Lawton and the Smear Your Mea Charitable Trust.
His consulting work also gained attention.
A Hīkina-related community engagement project received recognition through the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Awards.
Family
Family sits close to his public work.
His father is Wiremu Keepa.
Wiremu has strong Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa connections.
His mother is Professor Sandy Morrison.
She has worked extensively in Māori education and research.
His older sister was Talei Roimata Morrison-Ellison.
Her cervical cancer journey led to the creation of Smear Your Mea.
Eruera also has a brother named Mataia Keepa.
Public records show the brothers appearing together in waka ama competition.
The family connection runs deep.
So does the cultural connection.
Eruera Keepa in 2026
Current public records still connect Keepa with Ngāti Rārua governance.
He also remains associated publicly with Hīkina.
His health advocacy has continued through projects linked with Smear Your Mea and Ride for Talei.
His career is hard to place inside one job title.
Consultant fits.
Cultural adviser fits too.
So does iwi trustee.
Health advocate belongs there as well.
The common thread is Māori community work.
Final Thought
Eruera Keepa has built a career across culture, public service, sport, health and iwi leadership.
Some parts are professional.
Others are deeply personal.
His sister’s legacy shaped much of his health advocacy, while his Māori upbringing and language skills became central to his consulting and public work.
He keeps working across those spaces.
That is what stands out.
Not one title.
The connection between them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Eruera Keepa?
Eruera Keepa is a New Zealand Māori consultant, cultural adviser, iwi trustee and health advocate. He is also known for kapa haka and sporting involvement.
What iwi is Eruera Keepa from?
His publicly listed affiliations include Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Whakaue.
What is Hīkina Consultancy?
Hīkina Consultancy is a Māori engagement and cultural advisory business started by Keepa in 2019.
Where did Eruera Keepa study?
He studied at the University of Waikato and completed a Bachelor of Arts.
Who was Talei Morrison?
Talei Morrison was Eruera’s older sister. She founded Smear Your Mea after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
What is Smear Your Mea?
Smear Your Mea is a Māori-led cervical screening awareness campaign started by Talei Morrison and continued by her whānau and supporters.
Is Eruera Keepa involved in kapa haka?
Yes. He has performed with Te Mātārae i Ōrehu and has been involved in other kapa haka-related activities.
Did Eruera Keepa compete in bodybuilding?
Yes. Official IFBB records show him winning the Novice Men 90–100 kg category in a 2017 competition.
Is Eruera Keepa a Ngāti Rārua trustee?
Yes. Ngāti Rārua reporting and 2026 governance information list him as a trustee.
