Nga Kete Matauranga

Overview

In this beautiful and transformative book, 24 Maori academics share their personal journeys, revealing what being Maori has meant for them in their work. Their perspectives provide insight for all New Zealanders into how matauranga is positively influencing the Western-dominated disciplines of knowledge in the research sector.It is a shameful fact, says co-editor Jacinta Ruru in her introduction to Nga Kete Matauranga, that in 2020, only about 5 percent of academic staff at universities in Aotearoa New Zealand are Maori. Tertiary institutions have for the most part been hostile places for Indigenous students and staff, and this book is an important call for action. ‘It is well past time that our country seriously commits to decolonising the tertiary workforce, curriculum and research agenda,’ writes Professor Ruru.

Reviews

"The book demonstrates the power, energy and diversity that can be brought out into the world by Maori scholars working both comfortably and uncomfortably from within, without and across diverse academic disciplines and matauranga Maori." —Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Author Biography

Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngati Ranginui) is a professor of law at the University of Otago and co-director of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, New Zealand's Maori Centre of Research Excellence. Her extensive research considers Indigenous people's rights, interests, and responsibilities to own and care for lands and waters. She has multidisciplinary research collaborations around the world, including as co-author of Discovering Indigenous Lands: The doctrine of discovery in the English colonies (Oxford University Press, 2010). She has won awards for teaching, research, and graduate supervision. Linda Waimarie Nikora (Tuhoe, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) is a professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Auckland and co-director of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, New Zealand's Maori Centre of Research Excellence. Her specialty interest is in the development of Indigenous psychologies to serve the interests and aspirations of Maori and Indigenous peoples.