Kaikōrero | Speakers

4–6 Whiringa-ā-rangi 2026, Ngaaruawaahia, Aotearoa | 4–6 November 2026 - Ngaaruawaahia, New Zealand

We are proud to welcome an inspiring line up of keynote speakers to the World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference 2026.

Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, a Bardi woman from Western Australia, is a psychologist and professor at the Poche Centre for Aboriginal Health and the School of Indigenous Studies at The University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention. She is the Director of the Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention, and the lead Chief Investigator for the national Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing research project. Professor Dudgeon has served on numerous boards, including the National Suicide Prevention Office Advisory Board, NACCHO Culture Care Connect, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit Australia) and AIPA, and was a National Mental Health Commissioner for five years. A leading voice in Indigenous mental health, her significant publications include the Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2014) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project Report – What the Evidence and Our People Tell Us (2016). 
Professor Pat Dudgeon
Emery-rose Assiniboine
Emery-Rose Assiniboine
James
Dr James Makokis
Dr Hinemoa Elder is Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto and Ngāpuhi nui tonu. A Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist of 20 years, Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists, Kaiārahi Oranga Hinengaro at Te Hiku Hauora. Awarded the MNZM, New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Psychiatry and to Māori in 2019, a member of the NZ Human Rights Review Tribunal, and a best selling author. She is a Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio Resident Alumni and a member of the Busara Circle, for the Homeward Bound Project.
Dr Hinemoa Elder