The Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL) Team
Te Whatu Kairangi Group Award
No one can create change alone… he toa takitini
Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL) Team – Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
- Associate Professor Garrick Cooper
- Sacha McMeeking
- Jamie Hape
- Liam Grant
Left to right: Associate Professor Garrick Cooper, Sacha McMeeking, Jamie Hape and Liam Grant
This Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL) team embodies that truth. They cultivate bold kaupapa Māori leaders grounded in mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga. This is not a business leadership course, but a movement rooted in whānau, hapū, and iwi aspirations. The MMIL group nurtures authentic leadership anchored in identity and culture. Through its work on marae and connected globally through Indigenous exchanges, their work is deeply embedded in the lived realities of its ākonga.
Described as a “significant game-changer,” the MMIL programme’s impact is seen across Aotearoa, with graduates shaping policy, leading iwi initiatives, and pursuing doctoral study.
The group state, “Our role is not to make change ourselves, but to empower others to advance mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga in their own communities….” Through Te Reo, tikanga, and the metaphor of ‘pou’, they stand as a beacon of Indigenous excellence – strategic, visionary, and transformative.
The strength of the programme lies in fostering autonomy through passion-led, community-based projects, and in walking alongside ākonga as they reclaim their voice and vision.
Associate Professor Garrick Cooper, Sacha McMeeking, Jamie Hape and Liam Grant
Aotahi School of Maori and Indigenous Studies
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
E kore te ao e panoni i te tangata kotahi… he toa takitini.
Ko tā tēnei rōpū Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership (MMIL) he whakatinana i ēnei kupu pono. Ka poipoi rātou i te reanga rangatira mō āpōpō i takea mai i te mana motuhake me te tino rangatiratanga. Ehara tēnei i te akoranga hautūtanga pakihi, engari he kaupapa i takea mai i ngā moemoeā o te whānau, o te hapū, me te iwi. Ka poipoi te rōpū MMIL i te hautūtanga tūturu i poua ki te tuakiri me te ahurea. Nā runga i āna mahi i ngā marae, nā ōna tūhononga anō hoki ki ngā whakawhitinga kōrero huri noa i te ao, i āta tāmaua tā rātou mahi ki ngā āhuatanga me ngā wheako o ā rātou ākonga.
E ai ki ngā kōrero he “kaupapa kawe kē i te ihu o te waka,” tēnei, ā, kua kitea ngā hua papai o te kaupapa MMIL puta noa i Aotearoa, me te tārei a ngā tauira i tohua i ngā kaupapa here, arataki hoki i ngā kōkiri ā-iwi, me tā rātou whai i ngā tohu kairangi.
E ai ki te rōpū, “Ehara te wāhi ki a mātou i te panoni i te ao, engari he whakamana i ētahi atu kia whakapakaritia te mana motuhake me te tino rangatiratanga i roto i ō rātou hapori ake….” Mā roto i Te Reo me ngā tikanga, me te tū hei ‘pou’, ka tū hei rama mō te kairangi iwi taketake – he tū rautaki, he tū matakite, he kawe kē i te ihu o te waka ki ōna tohu ūranga waka hou.
Ko te kaha o te kaupapa ka takoto i roto i te penapena i te mana motuhake mā ngā kaupapa nā te kaingākau i ārahi, i poua ki ōna hapori, e hīkoi nei i te taha o ngā ākonga i a rātou e whakaputa kōrero nei, e whakaputa whakaaro nei mō rātou anō.
Read The MMIL Team's full Teaching and Learning profile | English
Read The MMIL Team's full Teaching and Learning profile | Te reo Māori