The countdown is on for our flagship event, the International Indigenous Research Conference (IIRC), which will be held in virtual mode from November 14–18. IIRC is whanaungatanga at its best, bringing together scholars, knowledge-holders, practitioners and decision makers from across Aotearoa and the Indigenous world to share, reflect, and celebrate. The NPM secretariat has been a hive of activity, making arrangements and confirming keynote speakers and panels. Watch this space for future announcements on our exciting programme of speakers and the call for abstracts.

Our NPM Wānanga Paetukutuku webinar series also kicked off this month with contributions from senior NPM research leaders Professor Helen Moewaka-Barnes, Associate Professor Karyn Paringatai, and Dr Shaun Awatere. The quarterly webinar series brings together NPM researchers and a diverse lineup of Māori movers and shakers to discuss research and evidence for policy and interventions. The first webinar focused on the NPM research programme and the Matakitenga framework driving our vision of flourishing Māori futures and research for collective impact.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording here. The next webinar is scheduled for September 8. 

Also this month we were thrilled to see four wāhine Māori inducted as Ahorangi Hou/New Fellows of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in Pōneke. Special highlights included NPM senior researcher Professor Angus Macfarlane reading the citation (and giving a proud kihi) for his wife Associate Professor Sonja Macfarlane, and NPM board member Amokura Kawharu signing the Fellows book 28 years after her father, Sir Hugh Kawharu, was inducted.

Ngā mihi nui to Tara, Kahu and the team at Te Apārangi for their manaakitanga.

Meanwhile, the intellectual legacy of our NPM colleague, the late Dr Mānuka Henare, will be celebrated with the upcoming launch of his book He Whenua Rangatira: A Mana Māori History of the Early-Mid Nineteenth Century at Waitangi.

Mānuka was a core part of the NPM whānau for many years, serving as a lead researcher and kaumātua for our Māori Economic Development programme Whai Rawa. During his tenure Mānuka provided critical research leadership and mentorship in the fields of mātauranga, Māori and Indigenous business enterprise, development economics, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Finally, the past months have brought tremendous loss for Te Ao Māori, with the passing of inspirational leaders Moana nui a Kiwa Jackson, Kahurangi Aroha Rereti-Crofts DNZM CBE and Joseph (Joe) Hawke MNZM. Their unwavering strength and lifetime of contribution has left an enduring legacy which NPM is incredibly grateful for. We reflect on this more below.

Ngā Pou Matarua | Co-Directors

• Professor Tahu Kukutai
• Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora