Masters graduate Mia-Mae Taitimu-Stevens (Te Rarawa/Aotearoa, Togafuafua, Vaito‘omuli/Sāmoa, Fakaofo/Tokelau) is the Māori and Pacific Academic Engagement Adviser for Te Tumu Herenga | Libraries and Learning Services | Student and Scholarly Services at Waipapa Taumata Rau – University of Auckland. She also chairs the Women of Colour Staff Network at the University.
Taitimu-Stevens says her research journey was shaped by a personal search to reconnect with her Pacific and Māori whakapapa after growing up feeling disconnected. This year’s theme for Tokelau Language Week resonates strongly with her as she continues to explore her connection to Fakaofo through her paternal great-grandmother Akenese Taiua Meleisea (nee Pereira).
“My journey of exploring cultural identity directly shaped my research path. Growing up disconnected from both my Pacific and Māori whakapapa, university became the space where I was simultaneously relearning who my people are and who I am,” she says.
“I was especially drawn to the study of essentialism – the idea that there’s only one way to be Sāmoan, Tokelauan or Māori.
Her academic work challenges colonial narratives and examines how Indigenous and Pacific wāhine express identity, particularly through body markings such as moko kauae.
She graduated with First Class Honours in a Master of Indigenous Studies in September 2024. Her dissertation, Moko Kauae Online: Social Media as a Tool of Resurgence for Young Māori Wāhine Receiving Moko Kauae, explores the evolving perceptions of moko kauae eligibility through TikTok and other digital platforms.
“Moko kauae has always been close to my heart,” she says. “It helped me examine my own journey with identity security as a wāhine Māori.”
Taitimu-Stevens often refers to poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s Go to the Limits of Your Longing, a reminder that emotions are transient and transformation is inevitable:
Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final.
With her ancestral ties to Tokelau continuing to guide her worldview, Taitimu-Stevens remains active in Indigenous scholarship and community engagement.
Fun Facts about Tokelau
Tokelau and its realm ties with New Zealand
Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand, made up of three coral atolls – Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo – covering only about 10–12 km². Its population is around 2,600 people.
Fakaofo Atoll Insights
Fakaofo’s population grew from 506 in 2016 to 568 in 2019. The capital seat of Tokelau rotates among the three atolls, with the Ulu-o-Tokelau (head of government) selected in turn from each.
Tokelauan Community in Aotearoa New Zealand
The 2023 Census recorded 9,822 people identifying as Tokelauan in Aotearoa, mainly in Wellington (4,185), Auckland (2,406) and Bay of Plenty (546). More Tokelauan speakers live in NZ (about 3,000) than on the atolls (around 1,500). UNESCO classifies Tokelauan as “severely endangered.”
Language Vitality and Community Initiatives
Only 23% of Tokelauans in NZ report being able to speak the language, dropping to 13% among under-15s.
Tokelau Language Week includes events such as fatele (dance), songs, cooking, church services, youth activities and language guides organised by community groups and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
PR from the University of Auckland
