Psilocybin is a naturally occurring prodrug produced by Basidiomycota mushrooms that elicits psychedelic effects when consumed. Psilocybin and other related tryptophan derivatives have garnered interest as potential effective treatments for several mental health disorders including clinical depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse and addiction. While clinical uses of psilocybin and its fungi have only recently been explored, psychoactive mushrooms have long been utilised by Indigenous peoples around the world. Mātauraka Māori tells us our tīpuna utilised numerous native fungi for both kai and rongoā. However, little is known about the presence or use of native psychoactive fungal species in Aotearoa. The Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, which aimed to prohibit traditional Māori healing practices, led to the suppression of Rongoā Māori for over five decades until its repeal under the Māori Welfare Act 1962.

This kaupapa explores the relationships our tīpuna may have had with Indigenous psychoactive fungi, and how this might inform culturally grounded, contemporary approaches to mental health care for whānau. Through the layering of archival ethnographic texts, iwi oral histories with Western scientific methods (genome sequencing, biochemical analyses) we seek to reconstruct our understanding of the whakapapa of endemic Psilocybe sp., an area with a history of colonial suppression and limited public understanding. Semi-structured interviews with Rongoā Māori practitioners, and a collaboration with Tū Wairua- the first marae-based clinical trial seeking to provide psilocybin-assisted therapy to whānau Māori suffering from methamphetamine use disorder in Gisborne, Te Tairāwhiti- will also inform this study.