Working in a Māori/Indigenous Space: A Critical Pākehā Perspective

• In Event: Amorangi: Doctoring Our Own

Abstract

I take my Te Tiriti o Waitangi responsibilities seriously. I am one of a handful of Pākehā academic staff working in an almost wholly Māori organisation. It is both an honour and a privilege, yet it is not without its challenges. This brief presentation outlines this critical space as important to the philosophies of engagement between Māori and non-Māori and how to meaningfully contribute to the important work of connection and relationship. I see first-hand the difference that an institution like Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi (TWWoA) makes to all people, but in particular for tangata whenua (original people) . My commentary is based on my experiences of working in a wānanga for approximately three years, but also premised upon experiences of working with Māori postgraduate students for approximately 15 years as colleagues and students and in multiple roles. I have worked in a consulting role to TWWoA since 2005 and acted as a critical friend for their PBRF submission in the 2006 round by being part of an external panel reviewing their staff’s evidence portfolios (EPs) and research outputs. I have also been an adjunct professor here since 2010 and acted as an external quality assurer of their Professional Doctorate in 2012. In 2013 I returned to Aotearoa/New Zealand to take up a ‘leadership’ role in the School of Indigenous Studies (SIGS) assisting in SIGS with the PhD and then in contributing the Doctor of Māori and Indigenous Development and Advancement degrees.
This paper catalogues my experiences of working with Māori doctoral candidates at TWWoA and offers advice from an alternative cultural experience of being a minority within an Indigenous organisation. It is somewhat ironic being in this ‘privileged’ position which must be somewhat akin to what Māori as tangata whenua must feel and experience working as minority inside mainstream/whitestream Pākehā dominated higher education institutions in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The paper also represents an exploration into identity politics and a coming out so to speak of my own ‘decolonisation’ as a senior Pākehā academic.

Author

• Richard John McKenzie Smith, Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi