About Te Tumu
Te Hītori o Te Tumu
The first department of Māori Studies in a New Zealand university was established in 1952. However, the teaching of the Māori language at the University of Otago only dates back to 1981 when Dr Ray Harlow offered a 100-level Māori language course as part of the Linguistics programme. Demand for the paper was consistent enough that in 1986 Mr Godfrey Pohatu was hired as a permanent Māori Studies lecturer, making Otago the last university to make such an appointment. Other papers were soon added and in 1990, under Godfrey's leadership, Māori Studies was given departmental status.
The 1995 review of the department recommended that a Chair in Māori Studies be established to head the Department. In 1996 Professor Tanai Ka'ai was appointed to this position and one of the most significant changes made was when the Department, which was located within the School of Languages, became an independent Cost Centre. In 1999, when the Division of Humanities was restructured, the name 'Te Tumu' was adopted to reflect the nature of the new School of Māori Studies. In 2003 when the Pacific Islands programme and the Masters of Indigenous Studies were first offered the School expanded its name to be known as Te Tumu – School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, as it is called today.
The school underwent a change in leadership and in 2009 Professor Paul Tapsell was appointed as the new Dean of Te Tumu. His appointment will ensure that Te Tumu remains strategically placed within the University and wider national and international communities and develops to be the first choice for studying Māori, Pacific and Indigenous studies. For more details regarding Paul's appointment click here.
He kōrero mō Te Tumu
Te Tumu is committed to high quality research and research-informed teaching, with the aim of producing graduates committed to Māori, Pacific and Indigenous knowledge, heritage and values, and equipped with the skills to be developers of communities and nations in the global context.
Ko te reo te tāhuhu o tēnei whare,
Heke iho ai ngā tikanga a ō tātou tīpuna,
Ko te tumuaki te poutokomanawa
Tū poupou ai ngā kaiako me ngā ākonga,
Koinei te whare hei whakairi i ngā tūmanako, i ngā wawata, i ngā moemoeā.
We offer a dynamic choice of courses intended to broaden the knowledge base of our students. We have an immersion Māori language programme from 100- to 400-level which aims to cater for students from all tribal areas and non-Māori students. Other papers support this programme while also providing a multi-disciplinary offering of papers such as history, research methods, performing arts, education, the Treaty of Waitangi and politics. Over the past few years Te Tumu has expanded its offering which now includes:
Bachelor of Arts (Māori Studies) a three-year full-time programme consisting of compulsory papers in Māori language and culture. Māori Studies can also be taken as a minor.
Bachelor of Arts (Pacific Island Studies) a multi-disciplinary degree taught across several University departments. Pacific Islands Studies can also be taken as a minor. For more information regarding this degree please go to the Pacific Islands Studies website.
*NEW MAJOR OFFERING* Bachelor of Arts (Indigenous Development/He Kura Matanui) focuses on the contemporary cultural, social, intellectual and economic development of Indigenous peoples in an international context. It is cross-disciplinary, combining Indigenous knowledge with a range of existing subjects. Graduates will develop a multi-disciplinary, culturally-inflected understanding of contemporary Indigenous concepts and issues, through cooperation, communication, and respect for differences.
Indigenous Development/He Kura Matanui comprises a core of papers about Māori and other Indigenous concepts, values, ideas and practices. Students can also choose from a broad range of papers on Māori, Pacific and other Indigenous societies, in Te Tumu and elsewhere in the University, with a view to deepening their understanding of the selected field. Indigenous Studies can also be taken as a minor.
Master of Indigenous Studies (MIndS) – a postgraduate course focusing on issues and research pertaining to Indigenous peoples. For more information regarding this degree please go to the Master of Indigenous Studies website.
Our facilities reflect our name, Te Tumu, and its use in the common phrase te tumu herenga waka – a post for tying up canoes, and in the alternate phrase te tumu herenga tangata. It is designed to encourage staff, students and guests of Te Tumu to anchor themselves to the School and use the resources and shelter it provides in which to base and fully immerse themselves in all the University of Otago has to offer.
We welcome you into our School and we look forward to working with you in your pursuit of tertiary qualifications and educational excellence.
