Professor Tahu Kukutai FRSNZ
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Pou Matarua
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Co-Director Tahu Kukutai is Professor of Demography at Te Ngira: Institute for Population Research, The University of Waikato where she specialises in Māori and Indigenous demography and data sovereignty. Tahu is a founding member of the Māori Data Sovereignty Network Te Mana Raraunga and the Global Indigenous Data Alliance. She co-edited Indigenous data sovereignty: Toward an agenda (ANU Press, 2016), Indigenous data sovereignty and policy (Routledge, 2020) and The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous Sociology (Oxford) .
Tahu has undertaken research with and for numerous iwi, hapū, and central government agencies, and provided strategic advice across a range of sectors. She is a technician for the National Iwi Chairs Forum Data Iwi Leaders Group and serves on the Board of Pūhoro STEMM Academy. Tahu has degrees in history, demography and sociology from The University of Waikato and Stanford University. She lives in Waikato with her husband, three tamariki and three cats.
Whakaahua & Ataata · Images & Videos
Rangahau · Related projects
How do we protect our data as Māori? This internship explored Māori data sovereignty—what it means, how it’s practiced, and why it matters. Through a series of easy-to-understand research briefs, the project supports whānau Māori to better understand and navigate issues like facial recognition technology and the future of our digital information.
View projectMāori Data Sovereignty
How do we protect our data as Māori? This internship explored Māori data sovereignty—what it means, how it’s practiced, and why it matters. Through a series of easy-to-understand research briefs, the project supports whānau Māori to better understand and navigate issues like facial recognition technology and the future of our digital information.
This internship created briefs for whānau Māori that explored what Māori Data Sovereignty is and why the protection of Māori data is important in today’s world of rapid technological advancement.
View projectHe Taonga te Raraunga: Exploring Māori data sovereignty practices for whānau Māori
This internship created briefs for whānau Māori that explored what Māori Data Sovereignty is and why the protection of Māori data is important in today’s world of rapid technological advancement.
This communiqué was developed by the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collab held at the 10th International Indigenous Research Conference (IIRC22), 15-18 November 2022. Hosted by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Centre of Research Excellence, IIRC has a well established reputation as a premiere international Indigenous conference. Researchers: The IIRC22 IDSov Collab…
View projectIndigenous Data Sovereignty and Universities Communiqué
This project explores hapū data sovereignty for Ngāti Tiipa, using tikanga to protect and manage data for whānau. It tests a Māori data privacy framework with Ngāti Tiipa’s digital databases, drawing on their mātauranga to guide decisions on data privacy and sovereignty.
View projectProtecting Ngāti Tiipa hapū data sovereignty
This project explores hapū data sovereignty for Ngāti Tiipa, using tikanga to protect and manage data for whānau. It tests a Māori data privacy framework with Ngāti Tiipa’s digital databases, drawing on their mātauranga to guide decisions on data privacy and sovereignty.
The guiding research question for this project are: 1) How has Tuurangawaewae Marae fostered community mauri ora (wellbeing) within Waikato and in Te Ao Maaori more broadly? 2) What role has Tuurangawaewae Marae played as both a repository and a place of action for te Reo me ngaa Tikanga in Waikato and in Aotearoa-New Zealand? 3) What are the factors…
View projectTuurangawaewae Marae: A Place to Stand
We have identified a set of questions relating to indigenous data governance, ownership and access, along with potential solutions for benefit sharing and value generation. What are the key challenges to realising indigenous data sovereignty and how might they be addressed? What are the key mechanisms needed to realise indigenous data sovereignty at global…
View projectIndigenous Data Sovereignty: Enduring Aspirations in a Digital Age
Ngā Whakaputanga · Publications
Book
Indigenous Data Sovereignty Masterclass Workbook
It has been nearly a decade since the publication of the landmark book Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Toward an Agenda. Since then…
Indigenous Data Sovereignty Masterclass Workbook
Kōrero · Related stories
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Our Stories | Our People
MĀORI DATA INNOVATION FEATURES ON WORLD STAGE
The Māori Data Governance Model (MDG Model) featured at the Istanbul Innovation Days 2025 last month, highlighting the…
Our Stories | Our People
MĀORI DATA INNOVATION FEATURES ON WORLD STAGE
The Māori Data Governance Model (MDG Model) featured at the Istanbul Innovation Days 2025 last month, highlighting the distinctive value that Māori bring to global conversations about data and digital innovation. Sponsored by the United Nations, the annual gathering is a major event for the development community, and is attended by government, industry and civil society groups from around the world.Kirikowhai Mikaere (Tuhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue) was invited to speak at the Days in her role as lead data technician for the National Iwi Chairs Forum Data Iwi Leaders Group (Data ILG) and Te Aho Tapu for its operational arm Te Kāhui Raraunga (TKR). The MDG Model is a world-first, providing a comprehensive guide to data governance through a Te Ao Māori lens. Kirikowhai is one of the Māori data experts that designed the Model, along with NPM Pou Matarua Professor Tahu Kukutai and senior researcher Associate Professor Donna Cormack.Kirikowhai says the Model piqued the interest of organisers because of its unique approach to data governance, rooted in mātauranga and tikanga Māori. “I am a firm believer that there is a real contribution that our mātauranga can make to these conversations. As soon as you go global you can see the profound contribution mātauranga can make at an international level where there are conversations about digital technology and data.”The Model was designed to provide the Aotearoa public service with clear guidance on how to steward Māori data in ways that align with Māori values and empower self-determination. Kirikowhai says a trustworthy system is key and people around the world are recognizing how important this is. “Trust is the currency of data, so if you don’t have trusted systems, it’s hard to have trust in the people and the institutions in this complex unsecure world. Our model is raising crucial issues that are important for everyone, not just Māori and Indigenous peoples,” she says.The Model was released in 2023 and quickly grew a reputation as an ethical, values-driven approach to data governance that was quite different from existing approaches.“In 2023, we were invited to the International Conference on Machine Learning in Hawaii where I sat on a panel with international innovators from Apple, Facebook, Google DeepMind and Microsoft, as well as a professor from MIT. These people had been meeting for 40 years, but this was the first time they had ever had an Indigenous person on their panel.”“What they said after they read the model, was that they had been missing an important voice in the whole development of AI and machine learning. They realized they had forgotten to embed ethics when they started to create machine learning,” says Kirikowhai.She says the international community is looking at Māori as innovators in this space, “all the way from Rotorua in Aotearoa, we are innovating in this digital and data space, not just for Indigenous people, but for global communities.”Kirikowhai says data is one of the biggest assets in the world and because of this it has huge potential as well as risk. “Data is a strategic asset, and it is very much an economic asset.”Because of the risks, she says Aotearoa needs to be very intentional about the technology that it adopts. “If it’s not our data, then it's not really our intelligence. One of the key factors for what we do at Te Kāhui Raraunga is being mindful of how we drive the continuity of our consciousness in this data and digital world. We need to be careful about the consciousness being programmed into AI, and what that may mean for future generations.”On a local level Te Kāhui Raraunga is developing and innovating several platforms for use. These platforms not only safeguard data but also utilize data to the benefit of different communities. One such platform is Te Whata, a ‘by iwi, for iwi’ data visualization platform.Te Whata brings together iwi Māori data to allow greater access and use by iwi of their data in ways that will benefit their communities. “The potential is huge. One of the biggest things we are doing is helping iwi to understand their own data. Once they understand this, they are better able to make strategic decisions about the types of initiatives they want to roll out.”Te Kāhui Raraunga is training iwi information managers throughout the country, so they can understand and use their data appropriately. To date, it has run two large workshops in Rotorua (with over 80 iwi information practitioners) and will run a roadshow around the country this year to further share the platform and learnings. Kirikowhai says there is huge potential for the data to be used to impact lives in many areas such as health, education and employment.“When we have data that is reflective of us and our communities, we can make good decisions about our futures. This platform enables iwi to be more responsive to the needs of their people.” -
Our Stories | Our People
HAPŪ DATA SOVEREIGNTY
Many of us are unaware of how information we share with government agencies, businesses and on the internet can be used…
Our Stories | Our People
HAPŪ DATA SOVEREIGNTY
Whakapapa information is one type of data that is being shared and stored in a variety of places. NPM PhD scholarship recipient, Ella Newbold (Ngāti Tiipa, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Porou) says because whakapapa data is a taonga, and by its very nature tapu, it is important that Māori have ownership and control of it.Ella’s hapū Ngāti Tiipa has been on a data sovereignty mission over the past six years in a collective effort to protect and assert sovereignty over its hapū data. Through her PhD, Ella is looking at how tikanga and kawa can support Ngāti Tiipa to protect, access and use their data for the benefit of the hapū. She says that tikanga approaches to protecting Māori data are crucial amid technological developments and privacy concerns.“It is essential to have tikanga and kawa around whakapapa data because it belongs to the collective. Whakapapa connects people to each other, to te taiao, te ao wairua, and across generations. Sometimes it can be sensitive, so it is important that hapū hold their own digital records and have control over how their whakapapa information is managed”, she says.“At the heart of my Phd is the pātai - how we can be the best kaitiaki of our data in our own spaces? How do we be in good relations with each other and with our taonga data for the collective well-being of Ngāti Tiipa according to our tikanga and kawa?”While there is a significant body of work on Indigenous and Māori data sovereignty, she says there is far less on iwi and hapū data sovereignty - a gap she wants to help fill. And while Ella is holding the pen for the PhD, she says the project is very much an intergenerational, collective effort and the support she has received from haukāinga and kaumātua has been crucial.Prior to her PhD study, Ngāti Tiipa had already undertaken a Marsden Fund project, led by Tahu Kukutai, to reconstitute their tūpuna population from 1750 to 1900. Their hapū research group - Te Tira Rangahau o Ngāti Tiipa (see picture above) - travelled to the National Archives, Alexander Turnbull Library and other repositories to find and digitise records. They also obtained historical births, deaths and marriage certificates and data from historical censuses and land court records. “If it looked like, smelt like, sounded like Ngāti Tiipa, we collected it” says Ella.
Thousands of items have been stored in the Ngāti Tiipa digital pātaka housed on a server located in Aotearoa. The hapū wanted to ensure that the mana of the data remains in the jurisdiction of Aotearoa.“This really forms the basis of Māori data sovereignty. People are unaware that their data is sitting in off-shore pātaka. The recent development of the world-first data storage infrastructure solution built by iwi Māori for iwi Māori is an exciting development for iwi and hapū, says Ella.“We wanted to protect whānau and their data so that it is not blasted around the internet. In this digital realm, anything and everything can go out into the world. So, it is important to Ngāti Tiipa to be the best kaitiaki of our whakapapa data and to lay some tikanga and kawa around that”.Ella’s PhD is part of a multi-year research programme called ‘Tikanga in Technology’ funded by an MBIE Endeavour grant. One of the tools that she is using for her PhD is the Māori Data Privacy Framework created by the TiNT team based at the University of Waikato. Based on four tikanga principles - mana, tapu, mauri, and hau - the framework provides a holistic approach to privacy that includes collective privacy.“When we’re talking about whakapapa information, collective privacy is just as important, if not more important, than individual privacy so we need approaches that can address that” says Ella.Ella would like to see other hapū go on a similar journey to protect their whakapapa information. “Whakapapa is the past, present and future. It is something that needs to be handled with the utmost care in digital spaces. For other hapū it is not just a one-size fits all. These are big questions and the impact of relinquishing your data sovereignty to others can be huge.”
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Wānanga Paetukutuku | Policy Webinars
Webinar: Data Sovereignty in Action
We talk to Māori innovators and problem solvers about ways they are enabling data sovereignty for their communities…
Wānanga Paetukutuku | Policy Webinars
Webinar: Data Sovereignty in Action
We talk to Māori innovators and problem solvers about ways they are enabling data sovereignty for their communities.
Under discussion will be data sovereignty solutions, data colonialism, Māori data weaponisation and ChatGTP.
Register online: https://auckland.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_adCZDW24RzOB9_K0b_NDkQ
Speakers
Moka Apiti
(Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Te Wehi, Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Porou and Te Whanau a Apanui).·Te Kāhui Raraunga
Moka is a Technical Advisor for Waikato Tainui on the Data Iwi Leaders Group, the Te Whata Program Manager and Digital Technician on Te Kāhui Raraunga.
Moka has a Master of Philosophy from the University of Waikato majoring in Geographic Information Systems and is currently enrolled at Massey University to undertake his Phd.
He has worked as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) consultant in the GIS sector for nearly 30 years primarily with Māori and Indigenous communities. To date, Moka has worked with most iwi across New Zealand and Indigenous communities in Hawaii, Canada, the United States and the Middle East
Moka is the Managing Director of Digital Navigators Ltd. Moka was the Chair and Treaty Claims Manager for Te Rūnanganui of Ngāti Hikairo, and a Technical Advisor for Waikato Tainui on the Iwi Leaders Data Forum. Moka was the Technical Advisor for Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, and Te Taitokerau for the Maori Land Service Project in 2017. Moka is a Google Earth Outreach Trainer and is on the Google Education Advisory Board which consists of international digital technology experts who advise Google and deliver technology training internationally. Moka has worked with Massey University to deliver GIS workshops as part of the Puhoro Academy STEM programme. He has held roles as the Chair of Te Kaahui Manu Hookai – the National Maori GIS Association, a Director of HistoryWorks Ltd, a Director of Te Potiki Trust, and was the GIS Advisor for the US Agency for International Development stationed in Iraq in 2008.
Gianna Leoni
(Ngāti Kuri, Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri)·Te Hiku Media
Gianna Leoni is a Data Specialist at Te Hiku Media. Te Hiku Media, also known as Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, is an iwi radio, media and technology hub based in Kaitāia that was founded in 1991. The not-for-profit, charitable organisation is connected to the five iwi of the Far North; Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu. The organisation's history determines its continued purpose to contribute to the revitalisation of te reo me ōna tikanga. Te Hiku Media are staunch advocates for Indigenous sovereignty over Indigenous data. They are kaitiaki, not owners, of the language data they hold, and have created a Kaitiakitanga License that states that the tools created from the data will be managed under tikanga Māori and guardianship.
Lee Timutimu
(Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou)·Arataki Systems
CEO of Arataki Systems, Lee founded Arataki in 2016. Arataki Systems is a proudly Māori owned, whanau business that builds digital cultural storytelling platforms and end-to-end technology solutions. Arataki is run by Māori tech entrepreneurs who have developed NZ’s first proximity activated cultural content delivery platform. It offers a virtual self-guided fully immersive cultural experience. The platform seamlessly connects users with cultural content and information, at the right time, in the right location.
Te Taka Keegan
(Waikato-Maniapoto; Ngāti Porou; Ngāti Whakaaue)·The University of Waikato
Associate Professor Te Taka Keegan received a Diploma in Computer Engineering from CIT (Wellington) in 1987. He spent six years working as a hardware engineer for Datacom and Digital before returning to the Waikato and Waikato University. He received a BA through the Te Tohu Paetahi stream (Māori immersion) and in 1996 was awarded an MA having completed a thesis on traditional navigation. Te Taka worked with the Māori Department and then in 1997 switched to the Computer Science Department. He completed a PhD in 2007, titled Indigenous Language Usage in a Digital Library: He Hautoa Kia Ora Tonu Ai.
Te Taka has worked on a number of projects involving the Māori language and technology. These include the Māori Niupepa Collection, Te Kete Ipurangi, the Microsoft keyboard, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office in Māori, Moodle in Māori, Google Web Search in Māori, and the Māori macroniser. In 2009 Te Taka spent 6 months with Google in Mountain View as a visiting scientist assisting with the Google Translator Toolkit for Māori. Further work with Google led to Translate in Māori.
In 2013 Te Taka was awarded the University of Waikato's Māori/Indigenous Excellence Award for Research. In 2017 Te Taka was awarded the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence.
Ētahi atu · Other people
Professor Sarah-Jane Paine
Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
Professor Sarah-Jane Paine (Tūhoe) is a leading Māori health researcher and internationally respected authority on…
Professor Sarah-Jane Paine
Dr Daniel Wilson
Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga
Daniel Wilson is a lecturer in Computer Science at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. His teaching and…
Dr Daniel Wilson
Associate Professor Deborah Heke
Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa
Te Whare Wananga o Wairaka Unitec
Associate Professor Deborah Heke (Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa) is the Director of Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Māori and Indigenous Research…
