Hamilton Public Lecture by Professor Waikaremoana Waitoki

Kei whea te ūkaipō? Where is the source of knowledge? This question sits at the heart of academic life, guiding our engagement with mātauranga Māori through research, teaching, practice, and service to whānau, communities, and society.

Mātauranga Māori is not only knowledge — it is a foundation for identity. It links individuals to whānau, iwi, the environment, and spiritual realms, situating personal and collective identity within ancestral continuity. It is a way of being and living.

Where knowledge is located has been shaped by historical and ongoing hegemony. Uncovering these sources is a deliberate journey. The paths we take, and the companions who walk alongside us, are guided by whānau, wairua, tūpuna, and te taiao. Along the way, knowledge is encountered, explored, overlooked, misunderstood, discarded — and yet also reclaimed, amplified, and enlivened across whānau and marae, oral traditions, archives, the natural world, and spiritual practices.

Mātauranga Māori resists dominant Western paradigms. It challenges racism, misogyny, and structural oppression, and affirms ways of knowing and being grounded in social justice, cultural reclamation, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

By centring mātauranga Māori and sustaining a path of knowledge reclamation, we reconnect with ancestral intelligence, reorient our understanding of identity and wellbeing, and ensure knowledge continues to guide and empower whānau, communities, and future generations.

Join Professor Waikaremoana Waitoki as she reveals her ūkaipō — the source of sustenance and belonging — lives in our connection to the past, present, and future.

This 45-minute public lecture will be held at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, starting at 5.45pm. Ticket scanning and Opus Bar will be open from 5pm.

Free parking is available on campus via Gate 2B, Knighton Road, Hamilton from 4.30pm.

Please register your attendance by clicking on the 'Register HERE' button above and bring your eticket, with you on the evening to be scanned.

Professor Waikaremoana Waitoki (Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Māhanga) is a Professor at Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato.

Professor Waitoki is a clinical psychologist with work and research interests in Kaupapa Māori psychology, adult mental health, child and adolescent mental health, supervision, accreditation and curriculum development.

She also holds a 3rd dan in Kyokushin karate, which she has taught through te reo Māori.