Role

Naomi’s role, provides specialist advice to ensure Te Rito Maioha supports the aspirations of Pasifika fanau and communities and leads the implementation of Te Rito Maioha’s strategic commitment to Pasifika fanau and communities.

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Education Background

Naomi has been in the tertiary sector for over a decade, as an advocate for equitable strategies and outcomes for Māori and Pasifika learners. Naomi has led and developed recruitment and outreach initiatives for both postgraduate and undergraduate Pasifika learners, to support their academic success.

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Research Background

Naomi is the PhD nominee for a Marsden Funded research project from 2017-2022 which is an international comparative study that explores the experiences of Māori and Samoan communities with the youth justice system. Naomi’s research interests include Samoan indigenous knowledge; Pasifika research methodologies; Samoan and Pasifika youth; Indigenous criminology and Indigenous success and higher education.

As a parent, Naomi has been inspired by the transition of her daughter through a Samoan ECE to a Samoan bilingual unit at primary school and the importance of these learning environments for Samoan/Pasifika communities for the maintenance of our indigenous languages. Also recognising the role of teachers/faiaoga who are carriers of this knowledge, which in critical within the education sector in Aotearoa.

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Teaching Interests

Naomi has experience of mentoring, teaching and convening Stage 1 &2 undergraduate papers with the Centre for Pacific Studies and the University of Auckland. During her studies as a postgraduate student, she was part of the Tuākana programme in the Faculty of Arts, providing pastoral and academic support to Māori and Pasifka undergraduate students.

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Recent Publications

Suaalii, T., Tauri, J. M., Webb, R. D., Blank-Penetito,A., Fuamatu, N., Taito, F., & Manase, S. F. (2021). Rangatahi Māori, Samoan Talavou and Youth Justice: Challenging the Monoculture through Decolonizing Practices. In The Aotearoa Handbook of Criminology.

Suaalii-Sauni, T., Tuagalu, I., Kirifi-Alai, T. N., & Fuamatu, N. (Eds.). (2018). Su’esu’e manogi in search of fragrance: Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi Efi and the Samoan Indigenous Reference. Huia Publishers.

Fuamatu, N (2014) Lifting the Veil: The Spirit of Mafutaga in Samoan Dance in Suaalii-Sauni, T. M., Wendt, M. A., Fuamatu, N., Va’ai, U. L., Whaitiri, R., & Filipo, S. L. (Eds.) Whispers and vanities: Samoan indigenous knowledge and religion. Huia Publishers.

Suaalii-Sauni, T. M., Wendt, M. A., Fuamatu, N., Va’ai, U. L., Whaitiri, R., & Filipo, S. L. (Eds.). (2014). Whispers and vanities: Samoan indigenous knowledge and religion. Huia Publishers.