Kei Kōnei Aronui – the Collective Experiences of MAI Ki Aronui, a Māori and Indigenous Doctoral Scholar Support network.

Abstract

Kei kōnei Aronui (Aronui is here) is the title of a waiata (song), composed by Jani Wilson (former coordinator of MAI ki Aronui), and is sung when welcoming newcomers into our space – declaring our presence and identity. This collective article presents the narratives of nine scholars affiliated with MAI ki Aronui, a Māori and Indigenous doctoral support network – hosted at Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland University of Technology) in Auckland, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Authors were invited to contribute short narratives or illustrative pieces describing their experience of MAI ki Aronui and their PhD or research journey. These contributions likely represent similar sentiments shared by fellow Māori and Indigenous PhDs. They include a range of creative and conventional vignettes illustrating the experience of being an Indigenous scholar in a western academic institution. The educational pathway for Māori and Pasifika, in Aotearoa has several compounding pressures, resulting in these scholars being amongst a small minority in Aotearoa’s universities. This collaborative article attempts to present the collective experiences of Māori and Indigenous scholars from elsewhere who found a place of belonging and acceptance, beyond the margins of academia and centred within an Indigenous worldview.