Pae Tawhiti

Awardee: Linda Te Aho (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Waikato-Tainui), University of Waikato

The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Tikanga and the State - Selected Papers of Sir E. Taihākurei Durie.

This collection brings together published and unpublished papers by Tā E. Taihākurei Durie, organised around the theme of hapū and Māori communities as the location of Māori authority. While Durie’s 1994 Custom Law paper is pre-eminent in bringing custom law into the realm of jurisprudence, the collection spans a remarkable range of papers and reports written over four decades, each exploring different facets of tikanga.

Awardee: Tia Barrett (Ngāi Tahu, Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto), Auckland University of Technology

The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Pātaka Wā: storehouse for time.

The recipient is a lecturer in Visual Arts, a lens-based artist, and a PhD candidate at Auckland University of Technology. Their doctoral research explores how time is experienced, told, and embodied within te ao Māori. Their creative practice is grounded in kaupapa Māori and environmental relationships, and they are currently developing a new version of an installation titled Pātaka Wā: a storehouse for time. This work has previously been exhibited and tested and is now being prepared for installation at RM Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau in 2026.

Awardee: Mona-Lisa Wareka (Ngātiwai, Ngāti Rereahu), University of Waikato

This research aims towards facilitating transformative change by investigating the impacts and experiences Māori face under current cannabis laws, while examining opinions surrounding potential decriminalisation. This project is significant as it is the first of its kind in Aotearoa, and looks to challenge attitudes surrounding cannabis at an academic level.

This rapid review examined and contributed to the limited understanding of the economic benefits produced by kai sovereignty initiatives in Aotearoa through a te ao Māori lens and kaupapa Māori foundation.

The focus of the project was to co-create and develop creative stories- pūrākau, that reflect the lived experiences of climate impacts from the perspective of rangatahi and whānau participants.

This internship developed a visual identity for Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Wellbeing Economies, bringing Māori wellbeing economies to life through design.
The work supports whānau aspirations by communicating key research in ways grounded in Te Ao Māori.