AUT - Tania Ka'ai

Professor Tania Ka'ai

Professor in Māori Innovation and Development

Phone: 64 (0)9 921 9999 ext 6601

Email: tania.kaai@aut.ac.nz

Qualifications:

BEd (Waik), DipTchg (Waik), CertMDP(Harvard), MPhil (Auck), PhD(Waik)

Memberships and Affiliations:

IWI: Te Whānau a Ruataupare o Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Wheke o Ngāi Tahu, Hawaiian

• Provide Project Management for Consultancies/Contracts including Tōku Reo with Kura Productions for the development of 100 half hour episodes for a beginner Māori language programme to be screened on MTS 2008
•  
• Strategic Planning Workshop for the Family Safety Team based at Onehunga Police Station
•  
• Developing a Research Plan for the Family Safety Team based at the Onehunga Police Station

Biography:

Tēnei au he uri whakaheke nō Porourangi, nō Tahu Pōtiki.
Ko Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare me Ngāti Wheke ōku hapū.
Ko Marotiri me Te Poho o Tamatea ōku maunga.
Ko Mangahauini me Whangaraupō ōku wai tipua.
Nō Hawai’i tōku matua. 

Tania is an alumni of Waikato, Auckland and Harvard Universities.  She has worked in tertiary education for 21 years; 12 of these in university education as a Professor. In 1996 she was appointed Foundation Professor and Head of the Department of Māori Studies at the University of Otago and was later appointed Dean of Te Tumu, the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies. She joined Te Ara Poutama in July 2007 and has recently been appointed Director of Te Ipukarea –the National Māori Language Institute in July 2008.

Tania grew up in a family which was shaped by a cultural landscape drawn from both a Māori and Pacific heritage. As an Indigenous scholar teaching and researching in a university, Tania uses the cultural values transmitted to her by her elders and mentors from both her Māori and Pacific families as an epistemological framework which informs her own academic writing and teaching within the university academy.

In 2006, Tania was a recipient of a National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award.

Tania’s first single authored book recently published by Huia (NZ) Ltd showcases the life of Ngoi Pēwhairangi from Te Whānau a Ruataupare, Ngāti Porou and includes a CD of some of her compositions including the well known song, Whakarongo.  Ngoingoi Pewhairangi: A Remarkable Woman is an example of Tania’s commitment to undertaking research which recognises and celebrates the work of Māori scholars and leaders within Māori communities and their contribution to the development of our nation and national identity.

ROLES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Director of Te Ipukarea – the National Māori Language Institute
  AUT Academic Board
  Applied Humanities Postgraduate Board of Studies
  Programme Leader for Postgraduate Studies for Te Ara Poutama
  Chair, Postgraduate Studies and Research Committee for Te Ara Poutama
Project Leader for the Māori and Pasifika Postgraduate Students Wānanga Series

Teaching Areas:

• Master of Arts in Māori Development – Tangata Pasifika
• Postgraduate supervision

Research Summary:

Tania’s research is anchored primarily in Te Ao Māori (the Māori world). She is interested in Māori language revitalisation initiatives, strategies and developments; Māori culture, epistemology and the transmission of indigenous knowledge; Indigenous peoples as agents of change in the transformation of institutions, organisations and their communities and; biographies of Māori repositories of knowledge.  She is currently engaged in research projects that focus on the utilisation of digital technology to increase access to Māori knowledge.

Publications:

Books

Ka’ai T. M. (2008) Ngoingoi Pēwhairangi – A Remarkable Life, Huia (NZ) Ltd, Wellington
 

Ka‘ai T. M. et al (eds) (2004) Ki Te Whaiao:  An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, Pearson Education, Auckland

Book Chapters

Ka’ai, T.M. (2008) “Ngoi Pewhairangi” in “The Pride” Famous Faces 11 – An exhibition celebrating our people, Gisborne Trust and Tairāwhiti Museum

Ka’ai, T. M. (2006) “Indigenous Academics as Agents of Change within the Academy” in Modeen, M. (ed) This Place Called Home, Manx National Heritage:  Isle of Man

Ka‘ai, T. M. & R. R. Higgins (2004) “Te ao Māori – Māori world-view” in Ka‘ai T. M. (et al) (eds) Ki Te Whaiao:  An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, Pearson Education, Auckland, pp13-25

Ka‘ai, T. M. & M. P. J. Reilly (2004) “Rangatiratanga – Traditional and contemporary leadership” in Ka‘ai T. M. (et al) (eds) Ki Te Whaiao:  An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, Pearson Education, Auckland, pp91-102

Ka‘ai, T. M. (2004) “Te mana o te reo me ngā tikanga – Power and politics of the language” in Ka‘ai T. M. (et al) (eds) Ki Te Whaiao:  An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, Pearson Education, Auckland, pp201-213
 

Ka‘ai, T. M. (2004) “Te mana o te tangata whenua – Indigenous assertions of sovereignty” in Ka‘ai T. M. (et al) (eds) Ki Te Whaiao:  An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, Pearson Education, Auckland, pp181-189

Refereed Journal Articles

Ka‘ai, T. M. (2008) “Te Hā Whakawairua, Whakatinana i Te Mātauranga Māori i Te Whare Wānanga: The Validation of Indigenous Knowledge within the University Academy” In Te Kaharoa, Vol 1
 

Ka’ai, T.M. (2008) “The Role of Marae in Tertiary Education Institutions” In Te Kaharoa, Vol 1
 

Ka‘ai, T.M., J., McDonald, J.C.Moorfield, (2006) “Te Whanake Online: An interactive resource for Māori language learning”. In He Puna Kōrero – Journal of Maori & Pacific Development. Vol 7, No 2, September, pp. 62-67
 

Ka’ai, T. M. (2005) “Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua:  The Jawbone of Muri-ranga-whenua:  Globalising local Indigenous culture – Māori leadership, gender and cultural knowledge transmission as represented in the film Whale Rider” in Portal Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, Vol 2, No.2

GRANTS:

2005-2009    FoRST Research Grant – Kupu Arotau: Dictionary of Loanwords in the Māori Language Newspapers (with Professor John Moorfield), $427k

2008-2011   TEC Encouraging, and Supporting Innovation Grant – Te Ipukarea: the National Māori Language Institute (with Professor John Moorfield and Associate Professor Pare Keiha), $1.5m