Peter Adds

Peter Adds is a Teaching Professor in Te Kawa a Māui - School of Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, where he has worked since 1984. His primary tribal affiliation is to Te Āti Awa in Taranaki, and his academic background combines anthropology and archaeology with deep knowledge of Māori culture and history.

Professor Adds earned his MA (Hons) from the University of Auckland. His academic journey has focused on Māori Studies, with particular attention to Indigenous knowledge systems, Treaty of Waitangi issues, and Māori cultural heritage.

His research interests span Māori heritage, Māori history, Māori culture, Māori archaeology, Treaty of Waitangi, and Treaty settlements. Professor Adds explores how Indigenous knowledge systems interact with Western academic frameworks, particularly examining threshold concepts in Māori Studies education. His work addresses the challenges of applying Western educational theories to Indigenous knowledge contexts and investigates the decolonizing potential of Māori perspectives, including in areas like Māori atheism as a decolonizing project. He has also contributed significantly to understanding New Zealand's early settlement history and archaeological sites like Wairau Bar.

Professor Adds' publications reveal a consistent focus on Māori epistemology, Treaty education, and Indigenous methodologies. His work demonstrates how Māori Studies functions as a transformative discipline that challenges Western academic paradigms while creating space for Indigenous knowledge. Recent publications increasingly address contemporary issues like religious change among Māori communities and the application of threshold concepts in Indigenous education.

Professor Adds has received research funding including the "MAI ki Poneke" grant from the University of Auckland (2021-2022). While specific major awards aren't detailed in the available information, his sustained contribution to Māori Studies over nearly four decades represents significant scholarly recognition.

As an educator, Professor Adds supervises Masters and PhD students and serves on advisory committees. His teaching portfolio includes courses on contemporary Māori society, Māori customary concepts, and the peopling of Polynesia. He has developed innovative approaches to student engagement, such as the Te Kawa a Māui Atlas project, which involves students in creating a digital cultural atlas of Māori Studies. His research on Māori student transitions into Māori Studies has informed teaching practices that better support Indigenous students.

Professor Adds maintains strong connections with his iwi, Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki, serving on their committee since 2019. His work bridges academic scholarship with community engagement, particularly in areas of Treaty education and Māori cultural revitalization.