Aroha Gaylene Harris (born 1963) is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

(

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

) academic. As of 2020, Harris is an associate professor at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, specialising in Māori histories of policy and community development. She is also a member of the Waitangi Tribunal.

Early life

Harris was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1963, to parents Margaret (née Leef) and Milton Harris, a truck driver. She grew up in

Te Atatū South Te Atatū South () is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and Li ...

, and was educated at

St Joseph's Māori Girls' College St Joseph's Māori Girls' College or Hato Hōhepa is a Catholic, integrated, boarding and day college in Taradale, New Zealand, for girls in Year 7 to Year 13. It is the largest Māori girls' boarding secondary school in New Zealand. History S ...

in Napier, before completing her final year of high school at

Auckland Girls' Grammar School Auckland Girls' Grammar School (AGGS) is a New Zealand secondary school for girls located in Newton, New Zealand, Newton, Auckland. Established in 1878 as Auckland Girls' High School, it is one of the oldest secondary institutions in the countr ...

. She credits her paternal grandmother, Violet Otene Harris, a Ngāpuhi and

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

, as having a significant influence on her during childhood.

Academic career

Harris has said that she studied history "partly because she’s a 'failed novelist' who wanted to write and be a storyteller". She earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Māori studies at the University of Auckland in 1989, and went on to complete an

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in social policy at Massey University titled ''Maori land development schemes, 1945–1974, with two case studies from the Hokianga'' in 1996. After a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

titled ''Dancing with the state: Māori creative energy and policies of integration 1945–1967'' at the University of Auckland in 2007, Harris was employed at the University of Auckland, where she is an associate professor. Harris was a founding member of Te Pouhere Kōrero, the New Zealand national association for Māori historians. She is a co-editor of the Te Pouhere Kōrero journal. Her first book, ''Hikoi: Forty Years of Māori Protest'', was published in 2004. described political protest in the second half of the twentieth century, showing that individual protests are part of a cohesive movement. She was appointed as a member of the

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...

in 2008, and is a member of the Te Rohe Potae (Wai 898) panel.

Honours and awards

In 2017 Harris was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's

150 women in 150 words The "150 women in 150 words" project was undertaken by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and published during their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2017. The aim of the project was "celebrating women's contributions to expanding knowledge in New Z ...

, celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. ''Tangata Whenua: an illustrated history'', a book co-authored with

Judith Binney Dame Judith Mary Caroline Binney (née Musgrove, 1 July 1940 – 15 February 2011) was a New Zealand historian, writer and Emerita Professor of History at the University of Auckland. Her work focussed on religion in New Zealand, especially ...

and

Atholl Anderson Atholl John Anderson (born 1943) is a New Zealand archaeologist who has worked extensively in New Zealand and the Pacific. His work is notable for its syntheses of history, biology, ethnography and archaeological evidence. He made a major contr ...

, won the Royal Society Science Book Prize in 2015, and the illustrated non-fiction category award in the 2016

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wa ...

In the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Harris was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to Māori and historical research. A special Outstanding Contribution to Māori History award was given to Harris in 2021 at the New Zealand Historical Association Conference.

Selected works

* * * *

References

External links

Profile of Harris at University of Auckland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Aroha 1963 births Living people New Zealand women historians Members of the Waitangi Tribunal Academic staff of the University of Auckland University of Auckland alumni 20th-century New Zealand historians Te Rarawa people Ngāpuhi people 21st-century New Zealand historians Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Auckland People educated at St Joseph's Māori Girls' College People educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School Massey University alumni