Hana O'Regan
Dean of Te Puna Wanaka, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Kāi Tahu, MA with Distinction, University of Otago
Hana O’Regan was raised in Wellington in a family immersed in Māori Treaty and identity politics. She received her secondary schooling at Queen Victoria Māori Girls Boarding school in Auckland before becoming an American Field Scholar in Thailand for one year. Hana returned to pursue an undergraduate degree with a double major in Māori Studies and Political Science at the Victoria University of Wellington. Upon graduating Hana took up a lecturing position at the University of Otago where she lectured for four years in the areas of Māori language, creative writing and the Treaty. During this time Hana undertook post-graduate study and graduated with her Masters of Arts in 1997. The topic of her thesis, Māori tribal identity development, became the basis of her book Ko Tahu Ko Au – Kāi Tahu Tribal identity, that was published in 2000.
She left Otago in 1997 to take up a position at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology where she headed the Māori language programme before taking up the position of Head of School in 2000.
After four years at the Polytechnic Hana took up the position of co-Manager of the Māori language Unit of the Ngai Tahu tribal organisation where she helped develop and lead the tribal language strategy for a further four years.
She returned to the Polytechnic as Dean of Te Puna Wānaka, the new Faculty of Māori in 2006 and now also holds the position of Director of Maori for the institution. Hana was a member of The Maori Language Commission – Te Taura whiri i te Reo Māori from 2003 -2010. The bulk of Hana’s recent publications have been centred on Kāi Tahu tribal stories and histories for rakatahi and also recently published an anthology of Māori poetry, ‘Kupu’ with co-author Charisma Rangipunga.