Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku (Te Arawa, Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Tūhoe) grew up in the steam of Ōhinemutu, Rotorua.
Now an Emeritus Professor, she has worked as a curator, lecturer, critic, researcher, governor and consultant in the heritage and university sectors.
She also writes poetry and stories, but most of her work has been academic nonfiction. She has just published an entertaining yet edifying political/personal memoir, Hine Toa : a story of bravery. This is her seventh solo authorship.
An award-winning and accomplished scholarly writer, she is trying to become a poet again. She has returned to the pā and serves on the Paepae Tapu o Ngāti Whakaue.
A founding member of Ngā Tamatoa and the Gay Liberation Front Aotearoa over fifty years ago, she is still a committed activist who loves haka, cats and chocolate.