In 2021, in response to an increasing recognition among the legal community that elements of tikanga are part of the common law of Aotearoa New Zealand (culminating in the 2022 Supreme Court decision Ellis v R.), the Council of Legal Education amended the regulations for the LLB to require law students to develop a firm foundation in tikanga and te ao Māori as part of their studies. Although early in their careers, William, Rachael, Adrienne and Dee were asked to act as kaihautū (or ‘guides’) for their faculty in redesigning the curriculum and developing the bicultural competence and confidence of their colleagues.
The team’s approach to this challenge was unique. Rather than simply teaching modules in compulsory 100- and 200-level courses in the LLB, they instead chose to upskill their colleagues, organising a well-attended fortnightly professional development series in the Faculty of Law that has empowered academic staff to weave tikanga Māori into courses throughout the faculty, and even to lead their own workshops for their colleagues on how tikanga relates to their areas of expertise. One of their senior colleagues notes that the team’s leadership was characterised by “care, empathy, patience and kindness”. This people-focused approach has united their colleagues in a shared project and developed the roots of long-term sustainability for teaching mātauranga Māori in the faculty, while ensuring that content is not included as an afterthought, but becomes an integral part of the curriculum.
Even two years in – and well ahead of Council of Legal Education requirements – staff and students are reaping the benefits. Staff have grown significantly in confidence and begun to incorporate tikanga into courses from Employment Law to Sentencing Theory and Practice. A fourth-year law student notes that tikanga has become more present in each year of the degree, and was herself inspired to incorporate it into an event organised for students around the motu. The mahi of the project team is continuing as they facilitate the introduction of a new compulsory 300-level course (also accessible to the wider community of legal professionals through Tuihono | UC Online): Tikanga Māori | Māori Legal Philosophies. In the words of their nominator, Professor Debra Wilson, “the nominees have gone significantly above and beyond the anticipated requirements to design a programme that has brought the Faculty together.”
