The University of Winnipeg has awarded the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies Professor an Honorary Doctor of Laws.
The special convocation ceremony took place at the University in Canada, in early April.
University of Winnipeg’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr Annette Trimbee says Dr. Smith continues to inspire scholars around the world. “That includes at our own University, where we recently introduced an Indigenous course requirement so that our students are exposed to Indigenous history and perspectives. For her decades of championing Indigenous research and scholarship, The University of Winnipeg is proud to recognize Dr. Smith with an Honorary Doctor of Laws”.
Dr Smith has received many awards for research excellence and contribution to Maori education. In 2013 she was honoured as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services in education and to Māori people. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2016. In 2017 she received the Prime Minister’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in Education.
The University of Winnipeg says Dr Smith provides an invaluable reference point for any institution committed to Indigenizing its spaces and approaches to scholarship. She has called out clearly for academic institutions to recognize that Indigenous knowledge(s) should not be subordinate to dominant scholarly knowledge(s), but rather must be respected as parallel ways of knowing.
Next, Dr Smith will be giving one of the major addresses at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in New York. Associate Professor Leonie Pihama will also be taking part in the conference.