Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori, Distinguished Professor Hingangaroa Smith won the Te Ururangi Award for Education at the 2019 Māori Television Matariki Awards.
The awards, held on Saturday, celebrate Māori excellence across a range of fields including education, arts, entertainment, health, science, sports, business and innovation, community and te reo and tikanga Māori. The Te Ururangi Award for Education acknowledges Professor Smith’s significant contribution to the development of Mātauranga Māori or Māori knowledge sector.
Of Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Kāti Māmoe descent, Professor Smith has been a key figure in the development of kaupapa Māori in education. Professor Smith helped develop kaupapa Māori theorising, which has had significant impact within the academy in New Zealand and international indigenous settings.
In accepting the award Professor Smith acknowledged the other nominees Evelyn Tobin and Massey alumni Dr Kathie Irwin and those who had contributed to the major development of Māori education. “I want to remember not only those of us who have survived, but those who have gone before – Dame Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira, Tuki Nepe and all those in the early struggle on the back of the revolution that began with Te Kōhanga Reo in 1981.”
The awards ceremony was timed to coincide with the rising of the Matariki star cluster, also known as Pleiades, marking the Māori New Year.
Previous Matariki Awards winners from Massey University include Emeritus Professor Sir Mason Durie who was given Te Toi o Ngā Rangi Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Matariki awards and Bachelor of Business graduate and mental health campaigner Ezekiel Raui, who received Te Whetū Maiangi Award for Young Achievers in 2016.