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BA(Hons) MA (Otago) PhD (Otago)

Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi

Contact

Office 4S8 Richardson Building, South Tower
Tel +64 3 556 5799
Email erica.newman@otago.ac.nz

Research

Erica researches indigenous perspectives of adoption, whāngai, kinship and identity (internationally and nationally). All aspects of her research cover these themes. She was awarded a Marsden Fast Start in 2022 to explore the intergenerational impact of the New Zealand 1955 Adoption Act and to journey with descendants of Māori adoptees who are searching for their tūrangawaewae. Erica was also a member on Professor Angela Wanhalla and Professor Lachy Patersons' Marsden project Te Hau Kainga: Māori Home Front during the Second World War. Her PhD research focused on the colonial intervention of guardianship and adoption practices in Fiji during the colonial period of 1874 to 1970. Which has resulted in publications of articles and a book chapter.

Erica has published work on the topic of transracial adoption in Aotearoa, Fiji's colonial orphanages, aspects of the Māori home front during the second World War. She continues to research in all areas of adoption, whāngai, kinship and identity within indigenous societies.

Teaching

Dr Newman is currently the programme co-ordinator for the Master of Indigenous Studies (MIndS) programme.

Supervision

Current

  • Jay Jomar Quintos, PhD, The Material Histories of the Cinema on the Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao and Sulu
  • Sofia Peters, PhD, He oranga māmā, he oranga whānau: The experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period for Māori women living in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, New Zealand
  • Kim Cope Tait, PhD English and Linguistics, Personal to Collective Sovereignty in the poetry of Hinemoana Baker, No'u Revilla and Natalie Diaz
  • Naumai Hughes, DBA Otago Business School, Improving experiences for Māori Professional staff at Universities in Aotearoa
  • Victoria Maloney, MA History, The Patriotic Hand of Heritage Inc: Supporting Veteran Families, 1940s to the present
  • Leighton Williams, MInds, Colonising sexual attitudes: the socio-cultural context of sex in Māori society
  • Abbiegail Tevaga, MIndS, Navigating Samoan Identity: The 'hamofied' experience
  • Andrea Lemm, MIndS, Kaitiakitanga - footprints of hope: transformational practice stories

Completed

  • Zay'Yen Benson-Brown, MInds, The Impacts of a Global Pandemic on Ngāti Hine: Tikanga, Tangihanga and Covid-19
  • Nicola Andrews, MInds, Historical Trauma, Indigenous People, and Libraries (2021)
  • Sharon Moreham, MIndS, Identity and Belonging in a Contested Space: A case study of a Pākehā adoptee into a Kāi Tahu whānau (2021)
  • Ella Walsh, MInds, Ka hoki ki te kāinga: a case study of how one family's Māori identity has changed over three generations (2019)

Distinctions

  • 2014: Skinner Fund
  • 2012: University of Otago PhD Scholarship
  • 2006: Te Tumu Kawakawa Prize
  • 2005: Te Tumu Tōtōweka Prize

Publications

Newman, E. (2025, December). He uri Māori: Descendants of Māori adoptees. Verbal presentation at the 26th Pacific History Association (PHA) Conference, Apia, Samoa. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Wanhalla, A., Macindoe, C., Christie, S., Paterson, L., & Newman, E. (2025). Tracing lifelines through the archives: The health of wounded Māori Second World War veterans in the immediate postwar years. Health & History, 27(1), 1-24. doi: 10.1353/hah.2025.a971599 Journal - Research Article

Wanhalla, A., Paterson, L., Christie, S., & Newman, E. (2025). Apirana Ngata, John Pascoe and The Ngarimu Hui: Picturing Māori citizenship in 1940s Aotearoa New Zealand. In F. Anderson, J. Lydon, M. Miles & A. Nettelbeck (Eds.), Picturing citizenship: Images, belonging and colonial legacies in the settler nation. (pp. 53-77). London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. doi: 10.5040/9781350513266.ch-3 Chapter in Book - Research

Newman, E. (2024). Heritage children. In A. Wanhalla, S. Christie, L. Paterson, R. Webb & E. Newman (Eds.), Te Hau Kāinga: The Māori home front during the Second World War. (pp. 208). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. [Contribution]. Chapter in Book - Research

Wanhalla, A., Christie, S., Paterson, L., Webb, R., & Newman, E. (2024). Te Hau Kāinga: The Māori home front during the Second World War. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press, 282p. Authored Book - Research

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