A group of our Te Kawa a Māui students has spent the past six weeks exploring Taiwan through an indigenous studies programme. The group is made up of five students from Te Kawa a Māui—The School of Māori Studies and five students from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka—University of Otago. The programme was funded by a group Prime Minister's Scholarship and designed in partnership with National Pingtung University.

Following a pre-departure hui at Ngā Mokopuna on 8 January 2025, the students travelled together to Taiwan led by Te Mapihi Tutua-Nathan from Te Herenga Waka and Tenaya Brown from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. Greeted in Taipei by National Pingtung University, the students then began their travels throughout Taiwan to learn, connect, and exchange with indigenous communities.

During their visit to the Atayal tribes, an indigenous TV station in Taiwan decided to report on the programme. The 6-minute report provides an insight into the cultural exchange that occurred between our students and the communities they visited in Taiwan.

During her interview, Te Mapihi Tutua-Nathan from Te Herenga Waka explains “For us, we fight for our indigenous language and our indigenous rights and that’s really important for us and it’s awesome to see your people doing the same... It’s cool to see the way that people are keeping our cultures alive”. Tenaya Brown from Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka similarly highlights how the programme has enabled the group to see the connections and commonalities that exist across different indigenous cultures:  “The spiritual connection that we’ve had to the whenua, the land, as well as the people… it’s very much like home. We are very connected to our land. We are very connected to our family. So I guess being able to share that is something that a lot of us are going to take away from this journey”.

Watch the full TV report below.