Associate Professor Kelli Te Maihāroa

Te Whatu Kairangi Award | Kaupapa Māori

A teaching practice underpinned by Mana Māori

Associate Professor Kelli Te Maihāroa is Kaihautū, Te Kahui Whetu | Capable Māori at Otago Polytechnic

Waitaha, Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Maniapoto

As a mokopuna of Te Maihāroa, the last tohuka and prophet of Te Waipounamu, Kelli is the first of her whānau to gain a university degree, a master’s qualification, and a doctorate. Te Maihāroa stood for mana Māori. Kelli is a product of tīpuna resilience and resistance, and as such, her educational practice is underpinned by mana Māori.

Kelli’s work is about being an agent of change for Aotearoa New Zealand. At the Polytechnic, she has contributed much to embedding Māori research through cultural advice and guidance on all research institution-wide, including ākonga research.

As shared by her colleagues, “Kelli is an excellent advocate for ensuring that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is embedded in Otago Polytechnic and beyond. She is a tireless and positive promoter of kaupapa Māori delivery to support Māori success.”

Her students appreciate the transformative nature of her work that reaches far beyond individual student learning. One learner explains her impact, “This would change the statistics of Māori learning in this country and turn the negative results into positive statistics for Māori. I always thought I would not be capable of fulfilling tertiary education, only to find through this process and tautoko that I can learn and succeed.”


 

He tikanga whakaako e whakaū ana i te mana Māori

Ahorangi Tūhono (Associate Professor) Kelli Te Maihāroa.
Kaihautū: Te Kāhui Whetū | Capable Māori, Te Kura Matatini ki Otago | Otago Polytechnic.

Waitaha, Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Maniapoto.

He mokopuna tēnei nō Te Maihāroa, arā, ko te tohuka, ko te poropiti whakamutunga o Te Waipounamu. Ko Kelli te mea tuatahi o tōna whānau ki te whiwhi tohu paetahi, tohu paerua me te tohu kairangi. He pūmau a Te Maihāroa ki te mana Māori. Ko Kelli tonu te hua o te manawanui me te māia o ōna tīpuna, nō reira, ko te mana Māori tonu te tūāpapa o āna mahi whakaako.

Ko te pūtake o ngā mahi a Kelli, ko te kōkiri whakawhitinga nui ki Aotearoa nei. He nui āna mahi ki te whakapūmau i ngā rangahau Māori ki Te Kura Matatini mā āna tāpaenga kōrero ahurea mō ngā rangahau o te kura whānui, tae noa ki ngā rangahau a ngā ākonga.

Hei tā ōna hoamahi, “He kaitaunaki whakahirahira a Kelli mō tana whakaū i Te Tiriti o Waitangi ki roto i ngā mahi a Te Kura Matatini o Otago, ki tua rā anō hoki. He kaitautoko tino whakapau kaha ia ki te whakatairanga kaupapa Māori ki roto i ngā whakaakoranga kia eke panuku rawa ai ngā ākonga Māori.”

Ka nui te whakamihi a āna ākonga mō ngā whakawhitinga nui e hua mai ana i āna ake mahi, ki tua rā anō i ngā akoranga ki te akonga takitahi. Ko tā tētahi akonga mō  te hua o āna mahi, “Mā tēnei, ka huri ngā tatauranga mō ngā mahi ako a te Māori i tēnei whenua, arā, mai i te kino ki te pai. Nōku anō te pōhēhē, e kore e eke i ahau te taumata o te kura tuatoru, heoi anō, nā te pai o tēnei tukanga me ngā tautoko, kua kite au, ka tāea tonu e au te ako me te eke panuku.”