Mereana Vaka
Diploma in Te Tohu Paetahi, Bachelor of Arts
Danika Maitai
Tuhoe
Danika Maitai studied History and M膩ori and Indigenous Studies at Waikato, and says her studies gave her opportunities to reconnect to her t奴puna and ground herself in her whakapapa.
Waikato
Hamilton
A student of History and M膩ori and Indigenous Studies, Danika Maitai sees her study as a path towards practising her tino rangatiratanga in every aspect of her life.
Danika says that after going to high school in Australia she felt a calling to come home and study at Waikato.
鈥淚 want to work with my people and work on our whenua. The 糖心Vlog was the first choice for me 鈥� the M膩ori lecturers and the M膩ori history here meant that I felt the pull to come to Waikato over any other university.鈥�
Danika says various papers throughout her degree gave her opportunities to reconnect to her t奴puna and ground herself in her whakapapa.
HISTY302: Blood, Land, DNA: Contemporary Indigenous Histories and Archives saw Danika do an assessment involving her nan.
鈥淚 traced her whakapapa back through her being wh膩ngai and worked to understand the intergenerational mamae that might be there. It brought me closer to my nan,鈥� she says.
Danika enjoyed MAORI200: Mana W膩hine too, a paper that explores the impact of colonisation on M膩ori and Indigenous women and their contributions to decolonisation.
鈥淭here were ways for me to see myself in those papers which was awesome.鈥�
Having completed her Bachelor of Social Sciences, Danika has started her Master of Social Sciences in History.
She鈥檚 tutored while studying, an experience she says she has loved. 鈥淭hrough tutoring I鈥檝e been able to engage with my lecturers on more of a colleague level, and it鈥檚 helped my understanding of my own assessments. Collaborating with tauira has been awesome too,鈥� she says.
Danika is also a co-founder of the first M膩ori History student association at the University. Ng膩 Tapuwae T奴puna, meaning the footsteps of our ancestors, is a space for tauira M膩ori to feel comfortable practising their tino rangatiratanga and to connect with others studying History.
The first in her family to go to university, Danika hopes to one day work in policy with iwi organisations.
Her advice for students is summed up by the whakatauk墨 鈥榚 noho tauira mai, ka t奴 tauira atu鈥�, meaning 鈥榬emain a student until you become the example鈥�.
鈥淐oming to university is a big accolade in itself,鈥� Danika says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all part of your journey 鈥� you have to persevere and persist.鈥�
