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Tangata · Te Tira Takimano

Dr Valance Smith

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Te Pouhere Aronui Māori Advancement | Assistant Pro-Vice Chancellor

Dr Valance Smith (Ngāpuhi, Waikato, Ngāti Haina, Ngāti Pākehā) has recently been appointed to Assistant Pro-Vice Chancellor (Māori Advancement) and leads the Mātauranga Māori Strategy at AUT. Valance provides cultural leadership to AUT, his whānau and abroad, this year accompanying the Pacific Mission Delegation to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands alongside Rt Hon Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. While his doctoral thesis looked at the role of contemporary Māori music in promoting te reo Māori (2014), his most recent research applies mātauranga Māori across many disciplines of research including kaitiakitanga, well-being, and research in design for health.

Rangahau · Related projects

Matakitenga project

22MR18Te Kōrero a te Reporepo – Understanding the Connection Between Tohu, te Maramataka and the Health of te Taiao
Kaiārahi · Project lead Associate Professor Isaac Warbrick
Whare wānanga · Host Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
Matakitenga · Framework
Wā rangahau · Timeline Commenced 2022 · Completed 2024

This kaupapa explored the relationships between environmental tohu (signs) observed in reporepo (swamplands), the phases of the maramataka, and the health of local ecosystems in the Hokianga.

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Matakitenga project

22MR12Motiti Marae and Tapuiwahine A12 whenua landblocks: The seen and the unseen – Exploring whenua and waterways ecosystems through sonic mapping and LiDar scanning technologies.
Kaiārahi · Project lead Dr Maree Sheehan
Whare wānanga · Host Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
Matakitenga · Framework
Wā rangahau · Timeline Commenced 2022 · Completed 2023

Motiti Marae and Tapuiwahine A12 whenua are full of unseen stories, rhythms, and vibrational energies. This research brought together cutting-edge sonic mapping and LiDar scanning technologies to explore the ecosystems and acoustic heritage of these ancestral lands. In partnership with local hapū, marae, and iwi, the project captured both the seen and the…

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Ētahi atu · Other people

See all 54 Tautoko · Support & governance →