Changing hearts and minds through Rangahau
In September, award winning composer, Maree Sheehan joined Te Manawahoukura Centre of Rangahau at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa as Kairangahau Matua (Toi).
Maree hopes that her vast experience as a researcher, educator, and composer will allow her to conduct Rangahau, and support others within Te Wānanga o Aotearoa to conduct Rangahau that will have a positive impact for Māori and within the toi Māori space.
“Rangahau has the ability to change hearts and minds. It provides and elevates the opportunity for mātauranga Māori to be seen in a western world where it should and does have equity,” says Maree.
Maree’s passion for Rangahau stems from her passion for te ao Māori and her aspirations to see more Rangahau published in both national and international academic journals.
She says that through conducting and publishing Rangahau, it will be written into history and gives voice to te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori in realms that it may not currently be recognised in.
“Rangahau has the ability to give people an understanding of te ao Māori and who we are as Māori. We need to be in those academic spaces and we need to be pushing back on western paradigms. We write about our culture, ourselves, our kuia and koroua, our whakapapa, how we do things and how we see the world, and that's really important.”
After spending most of her life living in Aukland, she is now based in Kirikiriroa, where her whānau are from, working out of the Mangakōtukutuku campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Glenview.
Maree’s whakapapa connects to Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Waikato and Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa, so she is grateful to work at an institution that allows her to be close to her whānau and marae, and have her feet planted back on her whenua.
Maree made a conscious decision to work at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, within Te Manawahoukura Centre of Rangahau, due to her desire to give back to her people and her whānau.
“That’s the underlying heart reason why I’m here in this role. In fact, it’s more key than anything else. It’s about giving back to our own people. If I can be of service or help others in the Rangahau space or any other space, learning, education, toi Māori, then that’s what I’m here for.”
Pūrongo whakahirahira
Featured stories
Finding a deeper sense of self through te ao Māori
Moving to Aotearoa from rural Australia as a teenager, Lily Warring found herself wanting to learn more about the culture and language of the place she now called home.
A journey shaped by whānau and a love of tamariki
Members of Tayla-Marie Takawe’s (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto) whānau were among the first tauira to graduate from the Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Reconnecting to te ao Māori through raranga
Haylee Roussel (Ngāti Rārua, Rangitāne, Ngāti Maniapoto) was searching for a way to reconnect with te ao Māori when she enrolled in the Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art, Raranga, at the Waiwhero campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Creating the spark for business success
With plenty of experience as an electrician, Josh Verstraten was ready to branch out from employee to business owner, but he knew running a successful business would require a new set of skills.
From financial stress to financial freedom for Auckland whānau
For Augustine Kopa, studying the Certificate in Money Management at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was about creating a better future for her whānau.
Two generations, one reo Māori journey
When Melody Francis (Ngāti Kahungunu) saw the positive impact that studying te reo Māori had on her mum, she decided to jump on the waka and begin the journey alongside her.
Tikanga study boosts whānau presence on marae
Patrick and Donna Tobin (Ngāti Kahu) are a brother-and-sister duo studying tikanga alongside their wider whānau at Te Paatu Marae in Kaitaia, all working towards the betterment of their whānau, iwi, and marae.
A teacher’s path to understanding tikanga
Originally from South Africa, Franda Zondagh has called Aotearoa home since 2003, but it was through studying He Papa Tikanga with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa that she began to feel a deeper connection to the place she lives and people she serves in her mahi.
Leading by example and learning te reo Māori
Liisa Wharepapa’s (Te Whānau ā Apanui) journey with te reo Māori wasn’t something that happened overnight, it was a goal waiting to be pursued until the moment she felt ready to take that step.
Returning home and reclaiming te reo Māori
After many years away building his professional career, Logan Bertram (Whakatōhea), returned home to Ōpōtiki with a clear goal of reconnecting with his whakapapa and creating a better future for his young whānau.
