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NPM Whānau | Our People
Ruānuku · Kaumātua 5
Tā Pita Sharples CBE KNZM
Tā Pita Sharples, of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Te Kikiri o te Rangi and Ngāti Pahauwera, was born in Waipawa in 1941 and…
Tā Pita Sharples CBE KNZM
Tā Pita Sharples, of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Te Kikiri o te Rangi and Ngāti Pahauwera, was born in Waipawa in 1941 and grew up in the small country town of Takapau in Hawkes Bay.
He went to secondary school at Waipukurau District High School and Te Aute Māori Boys College, where he developed his skills in kapa haka and a passion for Māori language and culture. He went on to establish the New Zealand National School of Maori Weaponry, where he became Tumu Whakarae (Sacerdotal Head and Master), and he founded Te Roopu Manutaki Maori Cultural Group.
He studied at Auckland University and trained as a teacher. In 1977 he was awarded a PhD from Auckland University in Anthropology and Linguistics. In 1982 he was appointed inaugural Chairman of the Ngati Kahungunu Tribal Runanga which he chaired for eight years.
For eight years he headed the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator, and then became Director of Culture at the Department of Māori Affairs. He has also been a Professor of Education at Auckland University and an Adjunct Professor at Unitec.
Living in West Auckland, he led the establishment of Hoani Waititi Marae throughout the 1970s, and has been actively involved there ever since, including as chairman for 37 years. He also led the establishment of the first Kura Kaupapa Maori in New Zealand, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hoani Waititi. Dr Sharples has belonged to numerous Māori community and education organisations, and has been a consultant to many government agencies and professional boards.
In 2004 he became Co-leader of the Māori Party, and was elected as MP for Tamaki Makaurau in 2005, 2008 and 2011. He was the Minister of Māori Affairs and Associate Minister of Education and Corrections from November 2008 to September 2014.
In 2015 In June, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a Member of Parliament and to Māori in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
He is married to Arapera and is a proud father of five children and grandfather of 16 mokopuna.
Tā Mason Durie ONZ KNZM
Emeritus Professor Sir Mason Durie KNZM, FNZAH, FRSNZ is one of New Zealand’s most respected academics, and was…
Tā Mason Durie ONZ KNZM
Emeritus Professor Sir Mason Durie KNZM, FNZAH, FRSNZ is one of New Zealand’s most respected academics, and was knighted in 2010 for services to public and Māori health.
For over 40 years, Sir Mason has been at the forefront of a transformational approach to Māori health, including chairing the Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives that produced the Whānau Ora report for the Government in 2010. He is a past Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Massey University.
Sir Mason previously served as NPM’s International Research Advisory Panel Chair and has been a valued past Principal Investigator leading research on the project Fostering te pā harakeke: Advancing Healthy and Prosperous Families of Mana.
Sir Mason was appointed NPM Ruānuku in October 2019.
Tā Tīpene O'Regan Kt
Tā Tīpene O’Regan was NPM's longest serving Board Chair before his retirement at the end of 2018, guiding the centre…
Tā Tīpene O'Regan Kt
Tā Tīpene O’Regan was NPM's longest serving Board Chair before his retirement at the end of 2018, guiding the centre through 12 years of its operations. He is best known more widely for his role as Chairman of the Ngaitahu Maori Trust Board leading the Ngāi Tahu Claim process before the Waitangi Tribunal culminating in the Ngāi Tahu Settlement. He served on the board for 22 years, and was chair for thirteen of those years. As the chief negotiator, Te Kerēme (the Ngāi Tahu Claim) was his main kaupapa. He was a major architect and negotiator of the Treaty of Waitangi fisheries settlements of 1989 and 1992, he was also the founding Chairman of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.
Tīpene is the retired Assistant Vice-Chancellor Māori of the University of Canterbury, a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors and held a 28 year term on the New Zealand Geographic Board. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Canterbury, Lincoln and Victoria University of Wellington and has published and lectured extensively over many years on Ngāi Tahu traditional history, Polynesian migration, Treaty issues and the evolution of biculturalism.
Tā Tīpene was appointed as an NPM Ruānuku in October 2019.
Distinguish Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Chair)
Linda Tuhiwai Smith is Professor of Education and Māori Development, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Dean of the School of…
Distinguish Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Chair)
Linda Tuhiwai Smith is Professor of Education and Māori Development, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Dean of the School of Māori and Pacific Development and Director of Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and is Chairperson of NPM's International Research Advisory Board.
She is a member of New Zealand’s Health Research Council, Chair of the Māori Health Research Committee, is President of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education and is a member of the Marsden Fund Council and Convener of the Social Sciences Assessment Panel. She has also most recently been appointed to the Constitutional Advisory Panel Committee in New Zealand and the High Panel - Science, Technology and Innovation for Development in Paris.
She has worked in the field of Māori education and health for many years as an educator and researcher and is well known for her work in Kaupapa Māori research. Professor Smith has published widely in journals and books. Her book Decolonising Methodologies Research and Indigenous Peoples has been an international best seller in the indigenous world since its publication in 1998.
Professor Smith was a founding Joint Director of New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence from 2002-2007 and a Professor of Education at the University of Auckland. She is well known internationally as a public speaker. She is Principal Investigator on the NPM Project - In pursuit of the possible: Indigenous Wellbeing
Emeritus Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku MNZM FAWMM
Emeritus Professor Ngahuia te Awekotuku continues to contribute in the arts and creative sector. With degrees in Art…
Emeritus Professor Ngahuia Te Awekotuku MNZM FAWMM
Emeritus Professor Ngahuia te Awekotuku continues to contribute in the arts and creative sector. With degrees in Art History and English, her PhD (1981) was in cultural psychology. She wrote an early (1991) monograph on Maori research ethics. For decades she served in the heritage environment as a governor, curator and activist/advocate. Her scholarly works on culture, gender, heritage and sexuality, and her fiction and poetry, have been published and acclaimed locally and internationally.