Rawinia Higgins

Rawinia Ruth Higgins MNZM is a New Zealand academic whose research focuses on Māori language and culture.^[2] In 2025 Higgins was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori language, education and governance.

Rawinia Higgins MNZM
Higgins in 2020
Awards	Pou Aronui award (2020) FRSNZ (2021)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Otago
Thesis	He tanga ngutu, he Tuhoetanga te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine (2004)
Doctoral advisor	Michael Reilly
Academic work
Institutions	Victoria University of Wellington
Doctoral students	Elizabeth Kerekere[1]

Research

Higgins' Master's thesis at the University of Otago was on the nature of transmission of oral histories,^[3] while her 2004 PhD thesis – He tanga ngutu, he Tuhoetanga te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine^{[needs translation]} – was on the identity politics of female chin tattoos.^[4][5] She was the Head of School at Te Kawa a Māui, School of Maori Studies at Victoria University and was appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor Māori at Victoria University of Wellington in 2016.^[6][7]

Higgins has written Māori material for Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.^[8] She has been a member of the Waitangi Tribunal^[9] since 2013,^[10] and is on the board of Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency.^[11] She is currently Chair of the Māori Language Commission.^[12] Higgins has also served on the following boards, Te Kotahi a Tūhoe and the Tūhoe Fisheries Charitable Trust Board.^[6] Higgins provided the translation for the Māori name of the New Zealand Veterinary Association – Te Pae Kīrehe – which the organization adopted on 29 May 2023.^[13]

Honours and awards

In November 2020, the Royal Society Te Apārangi awarded Higgins the Pou Aronui award for dedicated service to the humanities–aronui over a sustained period.^[14] In March 2021, Higgins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, recognising "her scholarly contributions have made a significant impact in sharing new discourse, insights and understanding of mātauranga Māori and challenging cultural norms".^[15]

In the 2025 New Year Honours Higgins was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori language, education and governance.^[16]

Personal life

Higgins is of Tūhoe descent.^{[5]: viii–ix}

References

1. Kerekere, Elizabeth (1 January 2017). Part of The Whānau: The Emergence of Takatāpui Identity – He Whāriki Takatāpui (Doctoral thesis). Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.
2. "Associate Professor Rawinia Higgins | Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga". Maramatanga.co.nz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
3. Higgins, Rawinia Ruth (1999), He kupu tuku iho mo tenei reanga : Te ahua o te tuku korero (Master's thesis) (in Māori), OUR Archive, hdl:10523/3000, Wikidata Q112038346
4. "Dr Rawinia Higgins, University of Otago, New Zealand". Otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
5. Higgins, Rawinia R (February 2004), He tanga ngutu, he Tuhoetanga te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine: The identity politics of moko kauae (Doctoral thesis), OUR Archive, hdl:10523/157, Wikidata Q111965583
6. Indigenous peoples and the state : international perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi. Mark Hickford, Carwyn Jones. London. 2019. ISBN 978-0-367-89544-0. OCLC 1124338401.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
7. "Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori". Victoria University of Wellington. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
8. "1. Understanding tangihanga – Tangihanga – death customs – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Teara.govt.nz. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
9. "Dr Rawinia Higgins — Waitangi Tribunal". Justice.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
10. "Minister announces Waitangi Tribunal Appointments". beehive.govt.nz. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
11. "Te Māngai Pāho | Dr Rawinia Higgins". Tmp.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
12. Webb-Liddall, Alice (14 September 2019). "Meet Rawinia Higgins, our first woman Māori Language Commissioner". The Spinoff. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
13. "Introducing Te Pae Kīrehe". New Zealand Veterinary Association. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
14. "2020 Research Honours Aotearoa winners celebrated at Government House". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
15. "Researchers and scholars elected to Academy". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
16. "New Year Honours List 2025 - Citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.