Introduction to Kawea Ake

The name of the strategy is derived from the whakataukī ‘mānuka takoto, kawea ake’ which relates to the idea of picking up challenges and taking responsibility for carrying the work of those forward. A manuka stick placed on the ground symbolises a challenge. The wero is always a challenge first and foremost to engagement and it is only in the context of relationships that positive outcomes can be realised.

In 2020, Waipapa Taumata Rau launched a bold new plan Taumata Teitei Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2025. The strategy recognises the exciting challenges of our time and is a statement on purpose, vision and values. The strategy privileges place and relationships with tangata whenua, while centring te ao Māori principles and affirming Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Significantly, Taumata Teitei inaugurates an enduring Indigenous framework named Toitū Waipapa. Both Taumata Teitei and Toitū Waipapa provide the impetus for indigenising approaches and practices across Waipapa Taumata Rau.

Indigenising approaches value relationships, connection to place, and attention to history as the basis for decision-making for the future. Indigenisation is a process that goes beyond approaches that ‘include Māori’ to offering positive transformative possibilities for the whole institution, and at the same time ensuring Māori students, staff, knowledge systems and ways of being and doing are normalised in the University.

Indigenising practices at Waipapa Taumata Rau are guided by tangata whenua. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are the descendants of Tuperiri and have held the mana in Tāmaki, the central Auckland isthmus since the 1740s. For our central Auckland campuses, our refreshed kōtuitanga (2022) with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei provides a framework for our existing relationship to flourish and grow. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei guide our indigenising
approaches through sharing cultural narratives, tikanga, iwi histories and knowledge. Reciprocally, Waipapa Taumata Rau has committed to support the educational, research, community and civic aspirations and plans of the iwi.

Māori leadership, culture and innovation has been at work in the University of Auckland for decades. We see this strategy as the continuation of this work, a carrying forward for our time of the ongoing project of Indigenisation. Aligned with the strategic refresh of Taumata Teitei, Kawea Ake sets out the strategic initiatives of the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori for the next five years (2024–2029).

The Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori takes a whole-of-institution approach and works across each of the five University portfolios to embed Indigenous priorities. In addition to this work, the office progresses a range of stand-alone initiatives.

This strategy is organised around the six taumata of the enduring framework Toitū Waipapa, which are broadly mapped in Kawea Ake to the five University portfolios and their Taumata Teitei priorities. The Taumata Teitei priorities have been reaffirmed by the Strategic Plan Refresh.

Each priority area in Kawea Ake is framed by the relevant Toitū Waipapa taumata, followed by a set of indigenising initiatives. The initiatives include both intersecting and stand-alone priorities and indicate who are the responsible partners. The 35 highlighted initiatives represent some of the key building blocks for better outcomes for Māori, the University and beyond.

Te Kawehau Hoskins mātou ko Te Tari o te Ihonuku Māori