Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (born 1949) is a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. In 1972, she was famously denied a visa to visit the United States on the basis of her sexuality.
Biography
Te Awekotuku is descended from
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'').Tūhoe and
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
.
As a student she was a member of Ngā Tamatoa at the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, . Her
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
thesis was on
Janet Frame
Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She was internationally renowned for her work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awar ...
and her
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
on the effects of tourism on the
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'').
Te Awekotuku has worked across the heritage, culture and academic sectors as a curator, lecturer, researcher and activist. Her areas of research interest include gender issues, museums, body modification, power and powerlessness, spirituality and ritual. She has been curator of
ethnology
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...
at the
Waikato Museum
Waikato Museum ( mi, Te Whare Taonga o Waikato) is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside ...
; lecturer in
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
at
Auckland University
The University of Auckland is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest, most comprehensive and highest-ranked university in New Zealand and consistently places among the top 100 universit ...
, and professor of
Māori studies
New Zealand studies is the academic field of area studies of New Zealand.
Subfields:
*History of New Zealand
* Literature of New Zealand
* Politics of New Zealand
*Economy of New Zealand
*Culture of New Zealand
Institutions in New Zealand:
*Vict ...
at
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
. She was Professor of Research and Development at
Waikato University
, mottoeng = For The People
, established = 1964; years ago
, endowment = (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020)
, chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ
, vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley
, city ...
. She and
Marilyn Waring
Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics.
In 1975, aged 23, she beca ...
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...
. Although now retired, she continues to write and mentor students.
Visitor's permit denial
In 1972, Te Awekotuku was denied a visitor's permit to the USA on the grounds that she was a homosexual. Publicity around the incident was a catalyst in the formation of
gay liberation
The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...
groups in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. This may have been related to a TV interview she gave in 1971, in which she described herself as a ' sapphic woman'.
Research into ''tā moko''
Te Awekotuku has researched and written extensively on the traditional and contemporary practices of (tattoo) in New Zealand. Her 2007 (re-published in 2011) book ''Mau Moko: the world of Maori tattoo'', co-authored with Linda Waimarie Nikora, was the product of a five-year long research project conducted by the Māori and Psychology Research Unit at Waikato University, funded by a Marsden Fund grant.
Te Awekotuku took a moko kauae (facial moko) to mark the death of
Te Arikinui Dame te Atairangikaahu
Dame Te Atairangikaahu (23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) was the Māori King Movement, Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori people, Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her tit ...
in 2006.
Research into the Māori way of death
In 2009 Te Awekotuku and Linda Waimarie Nikora received a $950,000 Marsden Fund grant as lead researchers in the Māori and Psychology Research Unit at Waikato University for the research project 'Apakura: the Maori way of death'. A further $250,000 was received from the Nga Pae o te Maramatanga National Institute of Research Excellence to explore past and present practices around
tangihanga
''Tangihanga'', or more commonly, ''tangi'', is a traditional Māori funeral rite held on a marae. While still widely practised, it is not universally observed in modern times.
Each iwi (tribe/nation) differs on how they honour those who pass. ''T ...
.
Recognition
In the
2010 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...
, Te Awekotuku was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to Māori culture. In 2017, she won an
Auckland Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckla ...
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 ...
", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.
Selected publications
* He tikanga whakaaro: Research ethics in the Maori community: A discussion paper
Ministry of Māori Affairs
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
On art and artists
*''We will become ill if we stop weaving.'' From Mana Whina Maori Selected writings on Maori Women's art, culture and politics. Republished in ATE Journal of Māori Art, 2020, vol 2 pp. 90—103.
*''E ngaa uri whakatupu - weaving legacies : Dame Rangimarie Hetet and Diggeress Te Kanawa'', Hamilton: Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, 2015.
*'Traditions endure : Five Maori Painters at Auckland Art Gallery', ''Art New Zealand'', Winter 2014, no. 150, pp. 58–61.
*'A glorious tradition', ''Art New Zealand'', Winter 2003, no.103.
*Unveiling our hidden treasures : the Seventh Pacific Festival of Arts 1996;', ''Art New Zealand'', Summer 1996/1997, no. 81, pp. 42–45,84.
*'Forgiving, but never forgetting : Shared Visions at the Auckland City Art Gallery', ''Art New Zealand'', Winter 1996, no. 79, pp. 74–77.
* 'He Take Ano: Another Take - Conversations with Lisa Reihana', ''Art New Zealand'', Spring 1993, no. 68, pp. 84–87
* 'Kura Te Waru Rewiri', ''Art New Zealand'', Spring 1993, no. 68, pp. 91–93
* ''Mana wahine Maori: Selected writings on Maori women's art, culture and politics,'' Auckland: New Women's Press, 1991.
*'Art and the spirit', ''New Zealand Geographic'', Jan/Mar 1990, no. 5, pp. 93–97.
*'Mats of the Pacific', ''Art New Zealand'', Spring 1989, no. 52, pp..88-90
*'Te whakahoutanga o Te Winika (The restoration of Te Winika)', ''New Zealand Listener'', 28 November 1987, p. 67.
*'Ngahuia Te Awekotuku in conversation with Elizabeth Eastmond and Priscilla Pitts’, ''Antic'', no. 1, 1986.
On tā moko
* 'Tā Moko: Māori Tattoo', in ''Goldie'', (1997) exhibition catalogue, Auckland: Auckland City Art Gallery and David Bateman, pp. 108–114.
* 'More than Skin Deep', in Barkan, E. and Bush, R. (eds.), ''Claiming the Stone: Naming the Bones: Cultural Property and the Negotiation of National and Ethnic Identity'' (2002) Los Angeles: Getty Press, pp. 243–254. Ta Moko: Culture, body modification, and the psychology of identity paper given at the Proceedings of the National Māori Graduates of Psychology Symposium 2002.
* Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, with Linda Waimarie Nikora, Mohi Rua your face: wearing Moko – Maori facial marking in today’s world paper given at Tatau/Tattoo: Embodied art and cultural exchange conference, Victoria University of Wellington, 21–22 August 2003.
* Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, with Linda Waimarie Nikora, Mohi Rua and Rolinda Karapu, ''Mau moko : the world of Māori tattoo'', Auckland: Penguin Books, 2011.
On death in Maori culture
*Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Linda Waimarie Nikora, and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, 'Manaakitanga: Ethical research with Māori who are dying', in M. Agee, T. McIntosh, P. Culbertson, & C. Makasiale (eds.), ''Pacific Identities and Well-Being - Cross Cultural Perspectives'', London: Routledge, 2003, pp. 188–203.
* Vincent Malcolm-Buchanan, Lina Waimarie Nikora and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku Cloaked in Life and Death: Korowai, kaitiaki and tangihanga MAI Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012.
* Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Linda Waimarie Nikora, and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, 'End-of-life care and Māori whānau resilience', MAI Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 140–152.
RNZ National
RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...
Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
, June 2014
* ''Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia.''
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture, 2012 page 553.