Long before European settlers arrived in New Zealand, Māori called Aotearoa home. As in many parts of the world, colonisation was swift and dramatic, with a new social framework, land ownership structure and laws replacing the Māori way of life, making life very difficult for Māori. In this interview, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s top legal scholars – who herself is also Māori – shares her perspectives and talks about the future.
Introduction
This episode is a conversation with a truly extraordinary academic. Distinguished Professor Jacinta Ruru lectures at the University of Otago where, after two decades of study, research and teaching, she became the first Maori professor of law in New Zealand. Her research centres on indigenous peoples’ legal relations with land and water, and much of her focus has been on Maori in New Zealand as well as First Nations in Canada.
The quality of Jacinta’s work is unquestionable. She has received numerous awards including the Prime Minister’s supreme award for tertiary teaching, and she has been made a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. She was one of seven inaugural distinguished chairs at Otago University in October 2019. In 2022 she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori and the law, and later that year received the University of Otago’s Distinguished Research Medal.
I spent an hour with Jacinta in her new office underneath the historic University of Otago clocktower in July 2024, just a few months after she became the inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Maori at the University – once again, the first in New Zealand to hold such a post – at any university.
In this interview, Jacinta shares a fascinating perspective around the impact of the legal system on Maori land ownership, the Treaty of Waitangi, the incorporation of Maori concepts and principles into New Zealand law, and the role and influence of Maori in academic institutions. Fascinating because Jacinta can view, interpret and share her perspective not only as a leading academic who has spent her career focussed on these topics, but also from the perspective of someone who is herself Maori.
It’s an interview which I hope will illuminate conversation and thinking around the history of Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Tiriti and some of the issues and opportunities our country faces. It has certainly helped me to view these things in a slightly different light.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:21 The Treaty of Waitangi: Historical Context
03:48 Colonial Impact on Māori Land and Rights
05:51 Legal Manipulation and Sovereignty Issues
08:30 The Role of the Treaty of Waitangi
11:49 Māori Response to Colonization
14:39 Restorative Justice and Reconciliation
17:52 Current Progress and Future Directions
24:55 Understanding Our History and Moving Forward
25:42 Reimagining National Parks: A Māori Perspective
29:11 Legal Personality of Land: A Transformative Approach
32:37 Global Interest in Māori Legal Innovations
35:42 Integrating Tikanga Māori into Modern Law
38:16 Shaping Future Generations at Otago University
44:45 The Importance of Māori Representation in Academia
51:23 Embracing Māori Knowledge in Education
