Dr Wahineata Smith

Dr Wahineata Smith Co-Chair Te Tumu Research Committee
Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Waikato, Ngāti Ranginui
BA (Hons), BPhEd (Otago), PhD (AUT)

Contact

Te Tumu Building
Office 3S7, Richardson Building, South Tower
Tel +64 3 479 3045
Email wahineata.smith@otago.ac.nz

Research

Wahineata’s PhD research ‘He whakapapa tōu, he tuakiri anō tōu: The importance of whakapapa to an urban Māori identity’, explored the notion that whakapapa is needed to inform ones’ Māori identity, further delving into the concept of an Urban Māori identity. Wahineata has experience researching in and about te reo Māori, Kaupapa Māori methodology, Māori centred health research, whakapapa, identity, raising children using te reo Māori and parenting strategies when raising bicultural children.

Wahineata’s current research is revisiting the findings from her PhD and reinterviewing participants 12 years post initial interviews. Her other reserach interests are focussed on raising bicultural children in an urban setting as well as exploring the whakapapa of moko kauae within her iwi, providing a space for rūruhi and wāhine to share their moko kauae journeys.

Teaching

• PACR 101 Pacific Realities and University Learning SS
• MAOR 312 Te Mahuri 2 S2
• MAOR 206 Ngā Pūkenga Tuhi S2
• MAOR 306 Ngā Pūkenga Tuhi S2

Supervision

Wahineata will consider supervising projects on a range of kaupapa and is open to having a kōrero about your research, to see if she is the right fit for you and your kaupapa. Writing your research in te reo Māori is something Wahineata will encourage and support as a supervisor.

Current

• Te Mihinga Komene, PhD, Ka ora rānei te reo Māori i ngā hapori tuihono? (Reo Māori, co-supervisor with Katharina Ruckstuhl and Karyn Paringatai)
• Frederic Dichtel, PhD, Why? Because! He aha ai? Nā te mea! Can insights from linguistic typology explain the reasons for irregular grammatical patterns in te reo Māori and contribute to its pedagogy? (Reo Māori, co-supervisor with Simon Overall and Karyn Paringatai)
• Judy Bautista, PhD, The Social Semiotics of Multimodal Visuals with Indigenous Contexts: A Critical Indigenist Multimodal Discourse Analysis (co-supervisor with Paerau Warbrick)
• Melissa Denzler, MIndS, The Cultural Taxation of kaiako Māori in English-medium educational settings

Submissions

• Kahurangi Tipene, PhD, Aianei Ake Nei Ae: He mea whakawaha i ngaa reo o te whaanau McLeod moo te irakee CDH1 (2024). – Reo Māori - Waikato
• Thomas Aerepo-Morgan, MIndS, He Takapau Whāriki, He Takapau Tuhikura: A reflection on the intergenerational knowledge transmission of moko konohi through the eyes of a mokopuna (2024). – Reo Māori – Kāi Tahu
• Elizabeth Hamilton, MIndS, Considering a Te Tiriti honouring approach to language policies for migrants and former refugees (2024).

Funding

• 2023 University of Otago Research Grant
• 2023 Te Poutama Māori Advancing Research Collaboration Application