Togialelei Safua Akeli Amaama (born ~1982) is a Samoan academic. She works as Head of New Zealand and Pacific Histories and Cultures at

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

, the National Museum of

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 ...

and is the first Pacific person to hold the role. She is also Adjunct Research Fellow in the Museum and Heritage Studies programme 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 ...

in New Zealand and an Associate Researcher for the Centre for Pacific Studies at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Career

Amaama left Samoa at the age of five and was raised in New Zealand and Australia. She has family links in Samoa in Tiavea,

Vaiala Vaiala is a village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is situated on the central north coast of the island, to the east of the capital Apia. The village is in the political district of Tuamasaga Tuamāsaga is a district of Samoa, with a populat ...

Samalaeʻulu Samalaeulu is a village on the northeast side of Savaii island in Samoa. The village is situated on the main island highway about a 40-minutes drive north west from Salelologa ferry terminal and township and is part of the electoral constituency ...

, and

Falese'ela Falease'elā is a village on the Southwest coast of Upolu island in Samoa. United Nations Development Programme. the village is part of Lefaga ma Faleaseela Electoral Constituency (''Faipule District'') which forms part of the larger A'ana political ...

. Amaama obtained a BA degree from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, an MA in history from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, and a PhD in philosophy and history from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Her research interests are in cultural heritage, health, migration, gender and governance. From 2008 to 2013 Amaama worked for Te Papa as curator of Pacific Cultures. She moved to the

National University of Samoa The National University of Samoa (''Lē Iunivesitē Aoao o Sāmoa'') is the only national university in Samoa. Established in 1984 by an act of parliament, it is coeducational and provides certificate, diploma, and undergraduate degree programs, as ...

in 2015 to join the Centre for Samoan Studies. In 2018 she was appointed Director of the Centre, where she oversaw teaching programmes, research projects and community engagement activities. One of her innovations was the use of film for participatory research. In June 2020 she was appointed Head of History and Pacific Cultures at Te Papa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amaama, Safua Akeli Living people Samoan curators Samoan women University of Otago alumni University of Canterbury alumni University of Queensland alumni Academic staff of the National University of Samoa Academic staff of the Victoria University of Wellington Academics of the University of St Andrews 1982 births