Greta Regina Aroha Yates-Smith, known as Aroha Yates-Smith, is a New Zealand performer and academic, who affiliates to

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

, Takitimu,

Horouta In Māori tradition, the canoe ''Horouta'' was one of the great ocean-going canoes in which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand approximately 800 years ago. The story goes that Kahukura, a man from Hawaiki, introduced kūmara (sweet potato), t ...

, and Mataatua. She is known for her research into forgotten Māori female deities.

Early life and education

Yates-Smith grew up in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

. As a child, she had wanted to know why there was a lack of stories about female Māori goddesses. Yates Smith completed a Masters degree and taught the Māori language before undertaking a PhD to look for lost stories of Māori female deities. She completed her thesis, titled ''Hine! e Hine!: rediscovering the feminine in Maori spirituality'', at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

in 1998''.'' The thesis examines the role of atua wahine (female Māori goddesses) in the Māori world view, and the marginalisation of the feminine, both past and present.

Career

Yates-Smith became Dean at the University of Waikato's School of Māori and Pacific Development (Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao). Her research interests have included Māori spirituality, traditional Māori medicine. She is also interested in Māori women’s arts and crafts, and the tradition of karetao (Māori puppetry), which she hopes to revive''.'' Yates-Smith curated an exhibition, including her own work, at the Rotorua Museum in 2000. The exhibition, ''Hine! E Hine!,'' was funded by the Arts Council Te Waka Toi (now

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

), and explored the legacy of Māori women. She has featured on a number of recordings, including collaborating with

Hirini Melbourne Hirini (Sid) Melbourne (21 July 1949 – 6 January 2003) was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author who was notable for his contribution to the development of Māori music and the revival of Māori culture. He played trad ...

and

Richard Nunns Richard Anthony Nunns (7 December 1945 – 7 June 2021) was a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He was particularly known for playing taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourn ...

on the DVD ''Te Hekenga-ā-Rangi'' in 2003. The soundtrack was later released as a CD titled ''Karanga Te Po - Karanga Te Ao'', and featured traditional Māori musical instruments taonga puoro. She has composed work and done vocal work including the DVD ''Tau te Mauri Breath of Peace,'' which won the Sonja Davies Peace Award in 2005'','' and the 2007 film ''He Oranga He Oranga Healing Journeys'', which received a Commended World Peace Film Award at the World Peace Film and Music Festival in Lucknow, India''.''' Yates-Smith's work was the inspiration for the video game ''MāoriGrl'' by her daughter Kahurangiariki Smith, and the digital exhibition of the same name held in the Depot Artspace in Devonport in 2018. The exhibition reinterpreted the story of Hine-tītama /Hine-nui-te-pō, the woman who became the goddess of death in Māori mythology.

Honours and awards

In 1992 Yates-Smith won a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to visit the

East–West Center The East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peopl ...

at the

University of Hawai'i A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

Manoa Mānoa (, ) is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from Ala Moana and Waikiki at . Neighbo ...

. In 2003 Yates-Smith was awarded the

Te Rangi Hiroa Medal The Te Rangi Hiroa Medal is a social sciences award given by the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi. The medal was established in 1996 and is named in memory of Te Rangi Hīroa, also known as Sir Peter Buck, a New Zealand medical practitio ...

, which is awarded for "current issues in cultural diversity and cohesion", for her doctoral thesis. In 2017, she was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

Family

Yates-Smith lives in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

with her husband and three children.

Selected works

* * * *

References

External links

Waka Huia episode featuring Yates-Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates-Smith, Aroha University of Waikato alumni Academic staff of the University of Waikato New Zealand women academics New Zealand composers New Zealand Māori women academics Year of birth missing (living people) People from Rotorua Living people