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Previous research suggests that for Māori (the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand), Cultural Efficacy is associated with increased life satisfaction and may act as a buffer against stressful events and factors that can cause psychological distress. Here, we test a mediation model derived from this general culture-as-cure kaupapa (theme) using data from Māori who participated in the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N= 676). Our model indicates that Cultural Efficacy, or one’s confidence to competently engage in te ao Māori (the Māori world), was significantly linked with Self-Esteem and that this positive association was partially mediated by the negative association between Cultural Efficacy and rumination. Our model suggests that this protective or buffering effect occurs—at least in part—because Māori with a higher Cultural Efficacy tend to experience lower levels of rumination, and a lower level rumination is, in turn, linked with increased Self-Esteem. These findings support a general culture-as-cure kaupapa for Māori, and add to the emerging literature linking Cultural Efficacy and active identity engagement with positive psychological and health outcomes for Māori.