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Category Archives: graduation

August graduands

This Saturday (20 August) is graduation day.  It is always wonderful when Te Tumu students graduate, but especially postgraduate students.  Completing an Honours, Masters, or Doctoral degree requires a huge amount of determination, because it encompasses a significant piece of self-directed research.  A dissertation or thesis is not easy task.  He mihi tēnei hei whakahōnore i ngā tāngata kua whakaoti i taua haerenga.

 

Sammy Hughes and whānau

Sammy Hughes

Iwi: Te Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-a-Apanui
Village: Leimatua (Vava’u) – Tonga
I have just recently finished as the Chief Advisor of the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh and am about to start as a Senior Manager in EY’s Consulting Division. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity and the Global Atlantic Fellows space working with individuals and groups across the globe in the global equity space.
Sammy is graduating with a Master of Indigenous Studies.
Dissertation title: Unrelenting Achievement With Attitude – Iwi Based Education On The Rural East Coast of Aotearoa: A case study on Te Kura-a-Rohe o Ūawa me Kahukuranui – Tolaga Bay Area School me Kahukuranui’s localised and responsive curriculum
Sammy’s supervisors were Paerau Warbrick and Karyn Paringatai (Te Tumu).
Abstract: Unrelenting Achievement With Attitude is the school motto of Te Kura-a-Rohe o Ūawa me Kahukuranui – Tolaga Bay Area School me Kahukuranui on the rural East Coast of the North Island in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Located in the heart of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti and sitting on Mangarara Pā, the former residence of Te Kani-a- Takirau, Hauiti me Ngāti Poroutanga are fixtures of the school’s localised curriculum. This case study looks to answer the question of ‘how can schools develop a localised curriculum and outcomes alongside iwi aspirations?’. The ontological position taken within this essay is that Māori success will look different within localised contexts, as well as that iwi aspirations can be given life within the New Zealand education system alongside the New Zealand Curriculum guidelines. Kaupapa Māori and indidenous approaches have been used to outline the ontological, epistemological, axiological, and methodological approaches taken throughout this work, as well as autoethnographic narrative and autoethnographic methodologies to give context to these approaches.

Ahinata Kaitai-Mullane

Ahinata Kaitai-Mullane.

Iwi: Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe and Waitaha
At the moment I am working as a tutor and a research assistant at Otago, primarily working on a research project with Anaru Eketone on Māori suicide postvention. I am in the process of enrolling to do my PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, looking at studying learning about, and care for, identities related to gender, sex, sexuality and body amongst Kāi Tahu young people. I am excited to continue weaving together knowledge around gender and Māori identities in my future research, working with my whānau, hapū and iwi.
Ahinata is graduating with a Master of Indigenous Studies.
Dissertation title: Decolonising Taera: Representations of wāhine Māori from early colonisation into contemporary pornography.
Ahinata’s supervisors were Angela Wanhalla (History) and Anaru Eketone (Social Work)
Abstract: This research answers the question of the impact colonisation has had on representations of wāhine Māori bodies, identities and sex, tracking the extent to which this continues in contemporary pornography. This research project takes a decolonial and Mana Wahine approach, answering this question by evaluating early colonial depictions and descriptions of wāhine Māori, comparing them to those in contemporary pornography. The significance of this lies in identifying themes in how colonial ideas continue to be impacted on wāhine Māori bodies in pornography, influencing sexual scripts, discourses and treatment of wāhine Māori in broader society. This is carried out through qualitative thematic image and textual analysis of a sample of 50 video thumbnails and titles collected from PornHub. This project argues that colonisation has influenced social discourses and scripts of wāhine Māori bodies, selves, and sex, seeing this colonial impact continuing in contemporary pornography. This project is ultimately a challenge to the power colonisation holds over wāhine Māori and our representation.

Louise Kewene-Doig

Lousie Kewene-Doig

Iwi: Waikato/ Ngāti Maniapoto
(Louise notes “our ancestor Kewene Te Haho hangs in the main room of Te Tumu. Was always lovely to see our tūpuna hanging there.”)
Currently I am working as a Policy Analyst here at the Dunedin City Council. It wasn’t a role I had thought of doing but it has been really rewarding.
I am able to use all the knowledge and expertise gained throughout my PhD journey into this role. It has been rewarding because I can see real world applications from all the knowledge I have gained. I am also an independent researcher involved in collaborative projects with the Māori and Pasifika Education Trust. I am currently working towards publishing my thesis as a book and continuing my work with the digital archive app Tutuku I created for my PhD.
Louise is graduating with a PhD.
Thesis Title: He Kohinga Kōrero: A selected group of Māori musicians and performers’ experiences of the 1960s through the Māori Showband movement.
Louise was supervised by Karyn Paringatai, Michael Reilly (Te Tumu) and Professor Emerita Khyla Russell.
Abstract: This thesis examines the unique identity of the Māori Showband movement through the narratives and experiences of a selected group of Māori Showband musicians and entertainers of the 1960s. The Māori Showband musicians and performers are connected through the whakapapa (genealogical connections) of the showband communities.
“He Kohinga Kōrero: A Selected Group of Māori Musicians and Performers’ Experiences of
the 1960s Through the Māori Showband Movement,” is grounded in Māori Studies but
informed by previous research in Ethnomusicology. The written component of this thesis is
partnered with my nominated creative component Tutuku. Tutuku is a digital archive created alongside “He Kohinga Kōrero,” which uses the research gained as informed commentary within the digital archive.
This thesis creates a new understanding of the Māori Showband identity and success.
Scholarly research surrounding this popular musical movement is sparse. The first part of this thesis investigates the cultural and social climate for Māori before 1960 that lead to the
opportunities and emergence of this musical movement. Chapter one introduces the digital archive and discusses the barriers to accessing stories and knowledge. It also lays down the ground work of the research methods used and the importance of kaupapa Māori research methodologies.

Te Tumu’s Postgraduate Graduands

Te Tumu would like to congratulate its four postgraduate students who will be graduating this December.

Roma-Kiritahi Simmons-Donaldson (Ngāti Porou, Taranaki, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is graduating with a BA(Hons) in Māori Studies.  Her dissertation, “Walking in two worlds – Te reo Māori in urban New Zealand” was supervised by Dr Karyn Paringatai.

Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to examine ways in which te reo Māori (the Māori language) can exist in urban New Zealand. Specifically, it will outline a history of te reo Māori, before looking at different ways in which language can be acquired and developed in an urban environment. It will then analyse ways in which te reo Māori has enabled Māori people to negotiate their place in urban New Zealand, in the absence of those environmental stimuli that traditionally inform and enhance a Māori identity and worldview. Central to this dissertation is the concept of intergenerational language transmission. As such, the experiences of my grandmother, mother, and myself will be presented throughout this dissertation to provide context, and to illustrate the interaction between urban migration, language, mechanisms of language acquisition and development, and identity, in a way that contextualises and enriches the literature.

Future plans: “I have just accepted an offer to undertake PhD study at the University of Otago, which will look to fill a gap in the conversation surrounding bilingualism and intergenerational language transmission, and explore in depth the journey of language transmission between second language speaking parents and their first language speaking children. It is my hope that this thesis will help to increase our collective understanding of the intersection of these two stark pathways of language acquisition, and help whānau who are looking to do the same.”  Dr Karyn Paringatai and Professor Poia Rewi will supervise Roma’s doctoral thesis.

Pia Cristóbal Kahn undertook the thesis pathway for her Master of Indigenous Studies degree.  Her thesis, “Sacred Katuiran: Decolonial Sensibility in the Katipunan Papers / An ‘indigenist hermeneutic’ of 19th century Tagalog revolutionary texts” was supervised by Professor Poia Rewi.

Abstract: Indigenous meanings and renderings tend to be forgotten and buried, and even erased, by non-indigenist interpretations and translations. This is a case study of an ‘indigenist hermeneutic’ approach to a re-translation of the “Kartilya” and other selected texts authored by members of the Katipunan, a 19th century revolutionary movement against Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. The Tagalog word katuiran, which is often translated to ‘reason’, in support of a prevailing narrative in Philippine historiography that credits the European Enlightenment for primary Katipunan ideas, becomes central to the research as intertextual analyses unearth a variety of its forgotten meanings and usages, and concomitant mistranslations. A comparative conceptual analysis of katuiran and the Māori word tikanga opens up a viable hypothesis for an expanded indigenous meaning of katuiran, that necessitates the re-translation of many passages and other principle ideas of the Katipunan. This re-translation results in a re-narration that depicts an indigenous 19th- century ‘decolonial’ Tagalog movement that sought to delink from European constructs epistemically, ethically and politically; and thus, a re-narration that offers a challenge to a ‘European Enlightenment narrative’ for the Katipunan revolution.

Future plans: “I plan to continue my research on the doctoral level, with a focus on Tagalog cultural conceptualisations, and drawing from the fields of indigenous studies, cultural linguistics, memory studies and oral history.”

Te Tumu also has two staff members who are graduating with their PhDs.

Dr Tangiwai Rewi (Waikato, Ngaati Tiipaa, Ngaati Amaru, Ngaati Tahinga) has completed a doctorate, “Examining traditional Maaori knowledge frameworks and intergenerational knowledge transmission. “Titiro, Whakarongo” – he huarahi ako noo ngaa raa o nehe.” Professor Michael Reilly was the primary supervisor, with Professor Helen May as co-supervisor until her retirement in Dec 2016, and Dr Michelle Schaaf as an Advisor.

Ariaa: Abstract: This thesis investigates the way knowledge is transmitted inter-generationally, and the teaching and learning methods (or pedagogies) used to do this. The transmission referred to here relates to knowledge about practices associated with the Kiingitanga ‘kingship movement’ of which the Waikato iwi ‘tribe’ have long been the kaitiaki ‘guardians’. The pouwhirinaki ‘participants’ are from the Ngaati Tiipaa and Ngaati Amaru hapuu ‘sub tribes’ from the Port Waikato area; however, participants also came from other hapuu and iwi within the Waikato-Tainui rohe ‘region’.

I set out to analyse whether there is any correlation between the traditional Maaori knowledge frameworks of old being utilised in the way we learn the roles associated with three domains on the marae ‘communal gathering place’ during three key Kiingitanga events. This thesis explores how learning was undertaken in ngaa whare waananga tawhito ‘traditional houses of learning’ before documenting my participants’ narratives about how they learned their roles. It concludes with my analysis of these findings and offers some recommendations, based on what the participants said, about cultural revitalisation looking forward.

Future Plans: After an enforced leave period from roles and responsibilities in order to complete the thesis, Tangiwai is now relishing the challenge of resuming these expectations. From January 2019 she takes on the 0.5 Academic Dean Maaori position in the Division of Humanities. This is in addition to being the new Co-chair of Poutama Maaori, the Maaori academic staff network across the Otago University campuses which she recently took up in September 2018.

On the research front she is busy implementing one of the translational priorities of her PhD research, Tuupuna Times, which encourages whaanau to record the life stories /narratives of their ruuruhi (elderly women) and koroheke (elderly men). While she has continued to teach her Maaori education papers of MAOR 213, 313 and 413, she also expects to conduct comparative research with two other New Zealand iwi and two other indigenous tribes from Northern America related to her PhD study during her pending Research and Study Leave forecast for the back end of 2020 / start of 2021.

Dr Erica Newman is also graduating, having completed a PhD on Adoption in Fiji.  Associate Professors Jenny Bryant-Tokalau and Jacqui Leckie supervised Erica’s thesis, assisted by the Advisory Committee of Professor Michael Reilly and Dr Michaelle Schaaf.

Abstract: The arrival of Europeans in Fiji, from the late 1700s, impacted the established social structures of the indigenous communities, removing what were considered inappropriate social behaviours and introducing concepts and values which altered the societal relationships and status of iTaukei (indigenous Fijians). This included the introduction of colonialist terms and practices of ‘orphan’ and ‘adoption’. Scholars such as Vern Carroll, Ivan Brady and Ward Goodenough have questioned whether the use of these terms were appropriate when referring to the traditional practices of child circulation amongst kin within Oceania. Yet the iTaukei population came to use these terms, practices and their meanings, although not entirely in the same context as the European.

This thesis investigates the colonialist perspective of Fiji’s traditional child circulation and introduced European practices of child care, guardianship, adoption and orphanage institutions. The research covers a number of key topics that are relevant for this thesis. It begins with an understanding of Fijian kinship structure prior to, and just after, the arrival of the first Europeans. The research then explores colonial interventions of guardianship (the first being a consequence of the introduced Indian Indentured Labour Scheme). Missionaries brought with them the institution of orphanages and a history of these are explored (today orphanages are now known as Children’s Homes). The Child Welfare Department in Fiji is responsible for the placement of vulnerable children into safe homes. As they are an important part of guardianship and adoption today this thesis provides a history of how this scheme developed into a government department. In 1945 Fiji enacted the Adoption of Infants Act as a formal process for all children of Fiji, regardless of ethnicity, and this research follows the path of creation. Although the Adoption of Infants Act caters for all ethnicities of Fiji, ‘informal adoption’ or child circulation continued and continues to be practised by iTaukei. During the colonial period the colonial government accepted this customary practice as an acceptable form of child care.

This thesis provides a history of adoption and guardianship practices in Fiji during the colonial period of 1874 to 1970.

Future Plans: Erica will continue to work at Te Tumu, teaching and researching.

Latest Masters of Indigenous Studies Graduate

Margaret Courtney and her whānau. (Click to enlarge)

Graduation is always the culmination of a lot of hard work.  At last week’s graduation, we had our latest graduate, Margaret Courtney, walk across the staff to collect her hard-earned Masters of Indigenous Studies degree certificate.  Margaret, of Te Arawa (Tūhourangi,
Ngāti Whakaue, and Tapuika),  also holds an LLB from Waikato University, and works as a Regional Advisor for Te Puni Kōkiri.  I asked her to send me a short account of her studies, and the abstract of her research dissertation.  Koia kei a koe, Margaret!

“My journey to complete my Masters qualification was a journey of personal growth, perseverance and enlightenment. Combining my experience of Whenua Māori, the Native Land Court system and integrating it with the history of our tūpuna and iwi has helped to fill knowledge gaps for my whānau. Given our ‘nuclear family’ upbringing my research emphasised the importance of Whenua Māori as a connection to our tūpuna but also strengthens our Whānau Mātauranga. It is this knowledge that we can pass onto our tamariki and mokopuna.

“The Master of Indigenous Studies programme at Te Tumu was the best option for me given I live and work in Rotorua. It provided a part time online option which complimented by mahi and lifestyle. The paper offerings provided choice and completing the dissertation cemented my learnings. I enjoyed the mixed forms of delivery and assessments.

“I am thankful for the support and patience of my supervisor Dr Paerau Warbrick. He provided good advice, steered me on track when needed, and helped me to extend my knowledge and research skills. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe, e whānaunga! To my whānau, your continued support is unwavering!”

Abstract

This research supports the view that whenua Māori is important in today’s global environment and remains a vital connection to our tūpuna, our iwi and our whānau history.

This is illustrated through an exploration of the author’s connection to Tūhourangi, an iwi of Te Arawa, the impact that the Native land legislation had on Tūhourangi and specifically the whenua, Rotomahana Parekārangi in the nineteenth century. The research explores the path of Rotomahana Parekārangi through the Native Land Court regime. The research concludes with an example of how the author’s whānau are making attempts to transmit their collective whānau mātauranga to the younger members of their whānau. This is in order to provide the whānau with experiences of the whenua, of their iwi and to understand the importance of their connection to the whenua derived from their tūpuna. It is important that the younger generation are cognisant of these connections and whānau mātauranga as, in time, they will become the kaitiaki of the whenua, and will need to pass this knowledge onto their mokopuna.

Te Tumu Graduates in May 2017

Eight Te Tumu students graduated in the May ceremonies last weekend.

Hine Te Ariki Parata-Walker (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu) completed a Master of Indigenous Studies (MIndS). Her research topic, supervised by Professor Paul Tapsell, investigated procedures around hahunga (the exhumation of ancestral remains) in modern times.  Select Parata-Walker abstract for further details.

Karurangi Salu (Tainui, Ngāpuhi, Samoan) gained a BA(Hons) with her research, entitled “Māku anō tōku nei whare e hanga”, looked at how haka and waiata are used in teaching at Te Whare Kura o Rākaumanga to pass on Tainui history, reo, tikanga and whakapapa.  Dr Karyn Paringātai supervised.  Select Salu abstract for further details.

Rieko Hayakawa also graduated with a PhD in Pacific Islands Studies.  See here for details.

Congratulations also to our BA graduates.

Alice Anderson (Ngāi Tahu), BA in Indigenous Development/Te Kura Matanui.

Luaipouamalo Gafa (Samoan), BA in Pacific Islands Studies.

Maiora Puketapu-Dentice (Te Āti Awa, Tūhoe), BA in Māori Studies and History.

Tataioterangi Reedy (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau a Apanui), BA in Indigenous Development/Te Kura Matanui.

Roma Simmons-Donaldson (Ngāti Porou, Taranaki, Tainui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), BA in Māori Studies.

Rieko Hayakawa PhD in Pacific Islands Studies

A celebration was held in Te Tumu today for Rieko Hayakawa, who will be graduating tomorrow with her PhD.  She started her doctorate in Media and Communications with Vijay Devadas and completed in Pacific Islands Studies where she was supervised by Jenny Bryant-Tokalau.

Dr Rieko Hayakawa and Associate Professor Jenny Bryant-Tokalau

Her topic, ‘Possibility of Telecommunication Universal Service in the Pacific Islands’ with case Studies of Vanuatu, PEACESAT and USPNet came out of Rieko’s work in the Pacific Islands for the Sasakawa Peace Foundation for whom she worked for 26 years. One of her important projects for Sasakawa was the establishment of USPNet funded by Japan which enabled the University of the South Pacific to continue its successful distance teaching programme across the Pacific islands.

Rieko has published several articles, book chapters and reports on her thesis topic and most recently presented her findings to a parliamentary committee in Japan. She will be making another presentation in Japan later this month, this time on maritime boundaries (which will be the subject of her second PhD, to be undertaken in Japan).

Rieko is the wife of Professor Glenn Summerhayes of Archaeology and Anthropology, and mother of 14 year old Kyuka.

Thesis Abstract:

This thesis is about the meaning of telecommunication for the remote islands and rural areas in the Pacific Islands through the application and assessment of the ‘Capability Approach’, developed and used by Amartya Sen in his book of “Development as Freedom”. This research also makes a major contribution to the study of ICT4D (Information and Communications Technology for Development) and development of telecommunication of the Pacific Islands, through an examination of the historical background of communication, through case studies of Vanuatu, and PEACESAT with USPNet.  In the Pacific thousands of small islands are scattered in the vast Ocean that occupies a third of surface of the Earth. Each small island is distant from the major economic centres and has a small population. Due to the economical scale of them and western colonization policy many islands did not have telecommunication service for a century after telecommunication was developed in the 19th century. In the 1970s during the cold war period, those islands had an opportunity to use free second-hand satellite from the United States and could provide higher education services and Fisheries management. In the 2000s deregulation and competition was introduced to the Pacific Islands Countries and finally Universal Service (which provided telecommunication service to the whole population) was achieved in some of PICs, such as Vanuatu.

What has been the impact of Universal Service in these countries? This study presents the result of my research in measuring the capability of ICT users, policymakers and providers, by undertaking interviews in Vanuatu using the ‘storytelling approach’. Results of this field research tell us about the dynamism of development relevance and people using ICT to magnify their Capability. Other case studies tell us that Capability does not belong to technology but to people and their will.