Abstract

This paper will explore the notion of Maori leadership that has been born out of the Maori boarding schools since the mid 19th century. These schools hold a proud and strong lineage of Maori leadership and this lineage is viewed through the stories of generations of students from Maori tribes all over New Zealand who have entered the portals of Te Aute College, a Maori boarding school for males in rural Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Leadership in the 21st century for Maori communities is an important reality including a need for developing effective leadership and governance as well as a need to explore the interface between traditional Maori leadership and contemporary Maori leadership. From an external lens, a taken for granted construct that Maori are a homogenous group too often prevails or indeed that indigenous groups are homogenous when the realty is that Maori and or indigenous groups are actually diverse. While diversity within groups of learners occurs and exists in many contexts, the intra-group diversities of Maori and indigenous peoples undoubtedly impacts upon their teaching and learning. The paper explores the construction of the notion of leadership at Te Aute College and how this has contributed to the advancement of the Maori people since the 19th century; indeed, the advancement of New Zealand as a nation.