Reflections from the Indigenous Futures International Conference 2025: Wahineata Smith, Ariana Nisa-Waller & Erana Severne-Takataka
In early November, Te Tumu Māori Studies academic Wahineata Smith travelled to the Indigenous Futures International Conference 2025, taking with her two Māmā that had been part of her research which focuses on parenting practices in dual heritage Māori and Tongan families. Their reflections on the event are published here.
Wahineata Smith
A call for abstracts to an Indigenous conference landed in my inbox and I was immediately interested. I had been thinking about how to bring some people from my research along with me as a way to acknowledge and give voice to the whānau or co-creators of my rangahau that explores how parents and caregivers actively shape their children’s cultural identity across geographic, linguistic, and social boundaries. As the number of Māori and Pacific families with multi-ethnic whakapapa grows, so too does the need to understand how identity, wellbeing, and belonging are nurtured in diverse whānau contexts. Research related funds were sought and I was able to invite two Māmā as representatives of the two phases of my rangahau, giving them the opportunity to co-present on their experiences of raising tamariki who have both Māori and Tongan whakapapa. Titled “Navigating layered identities: Co-creating knowledge with Māori and Tongan whānau in Aotearoa”, our presentation drew on kōrero from wānanga held with Māori-Tongan families in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Phase One and Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Phase Two.
Attending the conference was a meaningful and enriching experience, both personally and professionally. Hosted on beautiful Kabi Kabi country in Sunshine Coast, Australia, the gathering brought together more than 300 Indigenous scholars, researchers, and community leaders from across the region and beyond. While the conference theme spoke to “Indigenous futures,” many of the presentations carried a deep emotional weight. The kōrero reflected ongoing experiences of mamae, resilience, and reclamation, clear reminders that the work of decolonisation and self-determination continues to be deeply felt amongst Indigenous communities. It was powerful, yet at times heavy, as we collectively navigated the tension between inherited trauma and imagined possibility.
Hei whakakapi ake, e mihi tonu ana ki ōku hoa haere me ō rāua whai wā, ō rāua tautoko anō hoki ki te tohatoha ō rāua ake wheako. E mihi tonu ana ki Te Tumu, ki Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka anō hoki, mō te pūtea tautoko me te tirohanga whānui kia tutuki ai tētehi mahi pēnei, te kōrero ngātahi te kairangahau me ngā whānau kua rangahautia. Ko te whāinga matua, ko te whakatupu tamariki kia whīkoi poho kererū ai i roto i ō rātou ake whakapapa, i ō rātou ake ahurea, i ō rātou ake tuakiritanga anō hoki.
Arianna Nisa-Waller
I firstly wanted to express my gratitude to Wahineata for moving beyond traditional and Western research parametres and daring to ensure whānau voices, through her rangahau, are honoured, not just by way of doing research but in the dissemination of the rangahau and taking participating whānau with her to these indigenous hui. I know this challenges the idea of investment in rangahau within tertiary institutions being an individual pursuit that only sees and values the researcher. Wahineata has created an example located in collective indigenous realities to create new horizons where whānau voice becomes an enduring legacy enriching the outcomes of ao Māori driven rangahau, no longer are whānau just there in the recruitment phase and data collection, but they are integrated all the way through.
I think this is a model to consider in future investments for kairangahau Māori because this collective voice mahi is not a new concept to us but we could also think about how we push this as the norm in the institution. In the lead up to the conference, we had all met together on zoom to ensure we could co-create the presentation taking Wahineata’s lead. We were prepared for the time given to our session to go quickly but when we got into it, given the talks before us in our concurrent session went over time, our time was cut shorter. Despite this, Wahineata delivered an impressive and inspiring presentation on her kaupapa rangahau about ensuring the continued legacy of encouraging the dualities of Māori and Tongan identity for our tamariki.
This is the heartbeat of what we each have in common and what had compelled us to travel across the ocean to share kōrero with this indigenous audience. In a time of global unrest where vast losses are occuring and a thick political divide is erupting, this kaupapa of language and identity revitalisation pertinent to our tamariki bought a lightness and transformative power to the space. We sadly ran out of time to cover the full length and breadth of what we had planned however, the lasting message in my perspective was delivered by Wahineata. There was much interest in the rangahau and I think just enough was laid out for people to know this is a rangahau journey that Wahineata will continue as a longitudinal study with the further research funding she has been awarded.
Erana Severne-Takataka
This is such important mahi and very close to my heart. We are going to see more blends of Tongan and Māori children, and I know first-hand some of the complexities that come with raising strong, confident, vibrant children in multiple ahurea (cultures). Reflections I have a deep appreciation for how far Māori has come, even though there are still many ongoing challenges in Aotearoa. I could feel the anger and almost rage from our brothers and sisters in Australia. There is so much mamae there, and a lot of complexity. While this is true for Māori as well, I found myself thinking about how each of us could have stood up and done our presentation entirely in te reo Māori. After one of the sessions, a young Aboriginal wāhine made a comment saying, “You all stand so confidently, knowing who you are and where you come from.” That wasn’t something we had really thought about, but for others whose loss of reo and connection to culture feels so distant, it can seem aspirational. I hadn’t really heard of identity fraud before, but it came up a lot at the conference as a challenge they’re facing in Australia. In a discussion with the girls, we wondered how that might play out in New Zealand. We felt that at a small level you might get away with it, but in a larger forum our country is so small that someone would definitely call it out.
I’m not from the education field, but one thing I noticed was the style of presentations. Many were pre-written, often delivered by very intelligent people with amazing kaupapa, yet I rarely saw truly engaging presenters. Sometimes the tone was so clinical that it was hard to stay focused, especially with complex topics delivered in the same way throughout. It reminded me how important storytelling is. How do we bring people along on the journey and make complex or difficult topics easy to understand? How do we clearly explain our context to those who may not know our world? How do we use pitch, tone, and pace to support our message and thinking? It made me wonder how we could present ideas differently so they connect more deeply with people.
Bringing researchers together for 2025 Symposium
Kua ea te Hui Taumata o Te Tumu 2025! Kātahi te rā mīharo ko tēnei! The second annual Te Tumu research symposium hui was held on Wednesday 2 July in Te Wānanga, in the newly refurbished Te Tumu building. […]
Inaugural Te Tumu Symposium a showcase of diverse research excellence
On Wednesday 5 June, Te Tumu, School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, hosted its inaugural research symposium to share and celebrate research from Te Tumu. The day began with a welcome from Te Tumu Dean Prof Patrick Vakaoti and a history of Te Tumu from Prof Michael Reilly. The programme included four sessions of Te Tumu staff and postgraduate students’ presentations, constructive question and answers segments, feedback, and encouragement.
Supported by Te Tumu’s Research Committee and Postgraduate Committee, the event welcomed attendance from those who are based in Ōtepoti, as well as distance students who are based in Te Whanganui ā Tara, and as far afield as New Caledonia. With special Tītī and fry bread kai, this gathering was truly an inspiring occasion and speaks to exciting research work that Te Tumu staff and students are doing locally, and regionally that are important contributions for their communities, and for the growth of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies scholarship.
Session 1 was facilitated by Dr Paerau Warbrick, a lecturer in Māori Studies, and included presentations by Te Tumu staff member Paia Taani on intergenerational language transmission; and PhD students, Jenni Tupu who presented about transracial adoption, and Ella Cameron-Smith who presented on Ngaati Korokii Kahukura kai identities.
Session 2 was facilitated by Dr Telesia Kalavite, a lecturer in Pacific Studies, and included presentations by four PhD students: Frédéric Dichtel who presented on te reo grammatical structures; Regina Maniam who presented on engaging Indigenous values and methods in doctoral research; Stacey Kokaua-Balfour who presented on Cook Islands’ creative texts relating to the environment and climate change; and Jay Quintos who presented on critical perspectives on films about the Tboli people in the Philippines.
Session 3 was facilitated by Prof Michael Reilly, the Postgraduate Chair of Te Tumu. The session included staff member Prof Richard Jackson who presented on non-violent approaches to counterterrorism, and two PhD students: Jude Bautista who presented on visual social semiotics and critical lenses in discourse analyses; Kim Cope Tait who presented on personal sovereignty in the poetry of Hinemoana Baker.
Session 4 was facilitated by Dr Emma Powell, lecturer in Indigenous Studies and Programme Coordinator of the Master of Indigenous Studies (MIndS). The session included three MIndS distance students: Melissa Denzler, based in Te Whanganui ā Tara who presented on the cultural taxation of kaiako Māori; Elizabeth Hamilton, based in Whakatū, who presented on a approach for honouring Te Tiriti specifically relating to language learning policies for migrants and former refugees; and James Uri-Puati, based in the Cook Islands, who presented on a critical Indigenous framework for theorising second language learning.
Te reo Māori o ngā Kūki ‘Āirani: Dr Akevai Nicholas
Earlier in the week Te Tumu hosted a visiting scholar from the University of Auckland, Dr Akevai Nicholas. Akevai is from the island of Ma‘uke (Cook Islands) and is a Senior lecturer in Māori studies at the University of Auckland. She has a linguistics and Māori Studies background and her research focuses on the description, documentation, and revitalisation of her ancestral language.
Staff and students of Te Tumu, and the wider University community, were fortunate to meet and engage in a rich and insightful kōrero with Akevai. Informal in nature, the discussion and questions from those present kept rolling in and Akevai’s knowledge and expertise in the area of linguistics associated with te reo Māori o konei me ngā Kūki ‘Āirani was notable. A sobering point of discussion was the worryingly low proportion of Cook Islands Māori speakers in Aotearoa and the home island, it is a language that is very much in critical need of revitalisation and initiatives to teach the youth their language, sometimes alongside their parents. There is no denying a connection between Māori of Aotearoa and Māori of Kūki ‘Airani, genealogically, culturally and linguistically, therefore, a call to support and work together to achieve their reo aspirations is needed.
Some of the other key messages and kaupapa discussed included intergenerational language transmission, the geography and demography of the speaking populations, the introduction and interaction with English speaking people and some key researchers and leaders in linguistics of Indigenous Polynesian languages from the 1960’s to now. It was not difficult to hear the impact Dr Akevai Nicholas is making with her research, a trail blazer, a strong advocate and a passionate Ma‘ukean, who is a crucial champion of and for the revitalisation of te reo Māori o ngā Kūki ‘Āirani and te reo Māori Aotearoa. Meitaki nui Dr Akevai Nicholas.
Te Poroāki o Lachy Paterson & te Pōhiri o Roma Donaldson-Gush
Last week Te Tumu celebrated well with the retirement of Emeritus Professor Lachy Paterson and the arrival of new Māori Studies pūkenga, Roma Donaldson-Gush. Roma, of Ngāti Porou, Taranaki, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Kotirana descent, joins Te Tumu staff with a background in bilingualism and intergenerational language and culture transmission for Māori. Roma will be completing her PhD studies as well as teaching into the Māori Studies programme. She is a Te Tumu alumnus having previously completed postgraduate study looking at Te Reo Māori in urban New Zealand. The pōhiri, held on Wednesday 28 June, included representatives from Office of Māori Development, Te Huka Mātauraka, Te Rōpū Māori, staff from Te Tumu and the wider university. Roma was supported by her whānau, colleagues, and friends in a day filled with the celebration of new relationships and excitement for the future of Te Tumu.
L: Dean of Te Tumu Patrick Vakaoti garlanding Lachy with a salusalu. R: Angela Wanhalla, Lachy Paterson and whānau
Ara mai he tētēkura, wehe atu he tētēkura. With a new frond beginning, a mature frond leaves.
With over 16 years of service as a teacher, mentor, friend, and conspirator, Lachy Paterson was farewelled in an intimate gathering of colleagues and whānau on Friday 30 June. Many spoke of the contributions Lachy has made to Māori Studies, Te Tumu and the university as a whole with several teaching, administration and leadership roles. Stories unfolded about his days as a student, teaching fellow and ultimately his unrelenting commitment to Te Tumu. Although it was a bittersweet day, Te Tumu looks forward to a continuing relationship with Lachy as an emeritus professor and eagerly await his future publications and foray into YouTube.
Seminar: Ecotourism and Cultural Tourism
For more details, click to enlarge.
Amelia Fa’otusia, a PhD candidate at Australia National University, is currently in New Zealand undertaking research on whale tourism, as part of a wider comparison with similar ventures in Fiji and Tonga, and has kindly agreed to give a seminar to Te Tumu on “Ecotourism and Cultural Tourism”.
Amelia’s seminar will be in Te Iringa Kōrero (R3S10, 3rd floor of Te Tumu) at 3pm (NZ Time), on Wednesday 24 May.
This will also be available via Zoom. Click here to enter the Zoom Room.
Meeting ID 961 7927 4242
Password 534243
All interested people are most welcome to attend.
Please click on the poster for more information,
Seminar: E kore au e ngaro – whānau & the CDH1 gene
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Assoc Professor Karyn Paringatai of Te Tumu has been collaborating with Professor Parry Guilford of Te Aho Matatū – Centre for Relational Cancer Research in a Marsden-funded project on the impact on Māori whānau of the CDH1 gene, a condition with a high risk of stomach cancer.
Come along to the next Te Tumu seminar to hear how Humanities and the Health Sciences have been working together to create positive outcomes for Māori whānau.
When and where? At 3.00pm in Te Iringa Kōrero (third floor of Te Tumu), Wednesday 18 May.
People can also “attend” via Zoom. Click here to enter the Zoom room. Meeting ID: 928 1934 1721 Password: 457587.
Click on the poster for more info. All Interested people are most welcome to attend.
Reflections on ‘To Hell With Drowning’ AAPS Conference 2023
With fellow Māori scholars (L-R): Sam Iti Prendergast, Alice Te Punga Somerville, Marama Salsano, Innez Haua, Karamea, Jo Maarama Kāmira
The following is a reflective piece from Karamea Moana Wright, one of Te Tumu’s PhD candidates in Pacific Islands Studies.
The first Australia Association for Pacific Studies’ conference I participated in was held primarily online in 2021, with separate hubs in Aotearoa and Australia. Because we were in groups on our own campuses, I don’t think I fully understood the magnitude or value of the conference and the association itself until this month, when I attended for the first time in person.
The four days in Canberra at the Australian National University were packed with phenomenal panels, plenaries, roundtables, and whakawhanaungatanga with incredible Pacific thinkers, researchers, artists, leaders, and poets influential in our region and discipline.
This conference opened my eyes in greater measure to salient contemporary conversations taking place in the field, how my own research sits within the broader landscape of Māori, Pacific, and Indigenous Studies, and to see what is possible in my work moving forward. The AAPS conference has left me hopeful, motivated, refreshed, rejuvenated, and encouraged, underscoring the necessity to return for the next AAPS conference in 2023, held in Sydney.
Te Tumu’s UORG success
Three Te Tumu staff, Pai Taani, Dr Telesia Kalavite and Associate Professor Karyn Paringatai, have been awarded University of Otago Research Grants (UORGs) that will allow them to undertake or further research projects.
Paia Taani (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Whare, Te Ūpokorehe, Ngāti Uenukukōpako)
The title of Paia Taani’s research project is “I ahatia taku reo Māori? Tracking intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori within whānau”. She says, “my own experiences of learning te reo Māori as a second language and raising my own children with the language sparked my interest to investigate what happened to my language. This research project will therefore investigate the intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori within my whānau.”
Paia’s aim is to is to contribute to the existing research and literature about the use of te reo Māori within the context of whānau. Her research includes analysing whānau narratives to examine the historical intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori and will highlight critical moments within these narratives to explore the factors which affected language transmission within her whānau. The key themes emerging from these accounts will inform future language pathways for her whānau, and may also be used to generate recommendations to offer other whānau who may be seeking to reclaim their language.
The University of Otago Research Grant will help fund travel to the North Island to undertake hui and kōrero with participants, and will also fund a research assistant to undertake transcription work.
Paia expects that she will publish at least two journal articles from her research project, and she will one conference presentation. Another expected output of this research project is a hui with her participants where she will disseminate her findings and discuss ways to move forward with future research and support for whānau wanting to reclaim their language.
Telesia Kalavite (Nukuleka, Tonga)
Telesia Kalavite’s research project explores “The implications of changing cultural practices in Tongan wedding celebrations in New Zealand”, and how these changes impact on Tongan people’s lives in New Zealand. This project has national and international significance in understanding the development of Tongan culture and identity in the diaspora as well as the myriad cultural, social, economic, political and environmental impacts that are encompassed in Tongan wedding celebrations. It will identify and map out traditional cultural practices in Tongan weddings over time and space. This will provide a context in which to explore contemporary factors affecting Tongan wedding practices in Aotearoa.
Telesia sees this as a pilot study for a larger project in the future on how Tongan celebrations impact on Tongan people’s socio-cultural and economic development in Aotearoa New Zealand. She says “I am a Tongan researcher, and it is very important that to get this kind of research righ; there should be people with clear expertise and connection to it, like myself.”
Karyn Paringatai (Ngāti Porou)
Karyn Paringatai is collaborating with Marcelle Wharerau, formerly a Te Tumu student and staff member who is now an academic based at the Tauranga campus of Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao – Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies, University of Waikato. Their project is titled “Te Aho Tāngaengae: Māmā, Wahine, Māori, Academic”. Socio-economic stability through intergenerational mobility is a priority of whānau Māori; ensuring that future generations have full access to a range of resources that enhances intergenerational whānau wellbeing. Income, education and occupation feature predominantly in intergenerational mobility studies as primary indicators of social and economic status. However, this focus is too narrow and neglects the importance of also embedding cultural stability and responsibility. Whilst socio-economic stability and upward mobility is a priority of Māori, equally important is the intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.
Colonisation has had profound negative effects on all aspects of te ao Māori, including maintaining intergenerational responsibilities for protecting and enhancing the mana of whānau, hapū and iwi. In this unique research, Karyn and Marcelle aim to show how the reestablishment of this intergenerational responsibility to contribute to the decolonisation of te ao Māori must be a deliberate priority and why it is of urgency to do so.
Te Aho Tāngaengae gives voice to the narratives of wāhine Māori academics who are first in family to complete higher education/university and the mechanisms they employ in the intergenerational transmission of cultural capital. Increasing the capacity, and linguistic and cultural capabilities of Māori across generations who can tangibly contribute to improving the social, economic and political wellbeing of te ao Māori must be a priority. This research is important to reveal new insights into the methods used that have the potential to accelerate transformative change within whānau for generations to come.
Opinion Piece in Newsroom
An “op-ed” from Lachy Paterson has just appeared in Newsroom, asking why New Zealand still lets fireworks off for Guy Fawkes Day, when there are far more relevant historical events from Aotearoa that we could be remembering, such as on the 5th of November when the infamous invasion of Parihaka occurred. Click here to read the article.
