Rate My Professor Kākahu Kohuwai-Banks

Kākahu Kohuwai-Banks serves as Kaitiaki Mātauraka Māori in the Te Hereka Taoka section of the Hocken Collections at the University of Otago Library. This role involves the guardianship and management of Māori knowledge within Hocken Collections, a premier research library specializing in New Zealand and Pacific materials. As an Indigenous librarian, researcher, and gardener, she embraces a holistic approach to her professional and academic pursuits. Her background spans archaeology, ancient history with a particular emphasis on Egyptology, cultural heritage studies, information studies, and Viking studies.

Kohuwai-Banks has pursued studies across multiple institutions, including as a librarian at the University of Otago, a graduate student in Information Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, a graduate student in Viking Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), and a graduate student in Theological and Religious Studies at The University of Auckland. Her academic supervisors include Caroline Blyth, Stefan Brink, Alexandra Sanmark, Gretel Boswijk, Jennifer Hellum, and Lisa Bailey. Her research specializations include cultural heritage studies—particularly Indigenous studies and languages—archaeology, and information studies. Key publications include 'Ngā Matatiki Mātauranga: Tikanga, Policies, Libraries,' published in The Serials Librarian in 2023. This work reviews collection development policies from five major Aotearoa New Zealand libraries using a modified Mead’s Tikanga Test to assess tikanga Māori integration, particularly for Māori collection content, and introduces the Ngā Matatiki Mātauranga model for culturally safe management of Indigenous collections. She also authored 'Ancient Aotearoa Rocks?' in 2025 and developed the Runic Workshop Teaching Resource. Kohuwai-Banks contributes to professional bodies, including the LIANZA Climate Action Working Group and as Takatāpui Māori representative on the Tertiary Education Union National Women's Committee.