Join our leading research community
Our award-winning researchers are involved in ground-breaking projects.
Award-winning researchers
The excellence of our Māori, Pacific and Indigenous research has been recognised by the Royal Society of New Zealand Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Professor Margaret Mutu was awarded the Pou Aronui Award in 2015 for her sustained contribution to Indigenous rights and scholarship in New Zealand, and was made a Fellow in 2017.
Professor Tracey McIntosh was awarded the Te Rangi Hiroa Medal for Social Sciences in 2017 for her ground-breaking work in advancing our understanding of the enduring social injustices that undermine Māori wellbeing.
Dr Aroha Harris was awarded the inaugural Early Career Researcher Award in Humanities for her substantial contributions to the award-winning Māori history, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History.
Ground-breaking research
Our research projects feature prominently in the Marsden Fund each year, and showcase the breadth and depth of our Māori, Pacific and Indigenous research.
Professor Thegn Ladefoged is leading a team of international researchers sourcing and dating obsidian artefacts to better understand how Māori society has changed and evolved over time.
Dr Robert Webb and Dr Tamasailau Suaalii-Sauni are examining Māori and Samoan experiences of youth justice in a study across three different criminal justice jurisdictions: Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the USA.
Professor Dame Anne Salmond is completing a project exploring the unique intellectual history of Māori from 1900-1950, where Māori and European ideas, institutions and technologies were interwoven.
Professor Margaret Mutu is researching Māori views of the treaty settlements process and outcomes.
Resources and networks
We have a dedicated school for Māori Studies and Pacific Studies. The staff of Te Wānanga o Waipapa include nationally and internationally acclaimed researchers and experts in the Māori and Pacific worlds. We actively support Māori and Pacific development by promoting and advancing our knowledge of Te Ao Māori and Pacific world views through our teaching and research.
We also have links to Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence; the New Zealand Institute for Pacific Research; and the James Henare Māori Research Centre.