27/03/2025
The University life of a Kuki: Liam Kokaua
Like most of our people I grew up outside of my Ipukarea, specifically, in South Auckland. I was fortunate to be raised by my mother Kirsten, grandmother Moari (Maureen) Hilyard (nee Kokaua) and my great-grandparents Roinga “Taiti” Kokaua (Arera Rangatira) and Mama Jane Marsters, who I fondly knew as mama and papa.
After the passing of my mama and papa, my nana Maureen moved to Rarotonga to look after the family home in Pokoinu. For my 13-year-old self, this was the beginning of a reconnection to my Ipukarea, Rarotonga. Soon after I was also able to visit Palmerston Atoll where my mama was born, however Rarotonga quickly became home. I never went to school in Rarotonga as I got a scholarship to Dilworth, in Auckland. It was a great school, but I did not do well in my subjects, preferring to have fun with my mates. I did not gain University Entrance (UE) and did not plan on going to university. So, I moved to Rarotonga after finishing high school, where I worked at CITC Mainstore, while hoping to be a tattooist. After a year it was my nana’s persistent nagging that made me consider going back to Aotearoa for studies! I am now in my 7th year of university study, all of which has been at the University of Auckland, which isn’t very adventurous of me, but has kept me close to both my family and Rarotonga. I never thought I’d go this far in my education, but I’ve managed to take it one step at a time. Without a strong academic background, I started with a Tertiary Foundation Certificate (TFC), which is a one-year programme to get your UE requirements. This helped me get a good grounding in uni life, understand what topics I was interested in, and learn how to write simple essays. I barely scraped through TFC, but the important thing is I gained my UE.
The next year I started a three-year Bachelor of Arts majoring in Geography and Pacific Studies. I chose Geography because I was interested in how the natural and human worlds are interconnected. Pacific Studies was a chance to further my personal interest in researching the history, languages and traditions of Te Moana Nui o Kiva. I was not a straight A student, but I graduated with my BA. My confidence was growing. I continued with a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Geography and Environmental Management, where I still only getting average grades. I had some personal struggles and failed my first ever paper that year as a postgraduate student. By this stage I was done with university and decided it was time to move back to Rarotonga with my young family.
I worked for Te Ipukarea Society for four years, and through doing so learnt a huge amount about our islands and our unique biodiversity and environmental challenges. I was able to benefit from the mentorship of environmental guardians such as Kelvin Passfield, Ian Karika, Teina Rongo, and aunty Celine Dyer. I realized my passion lied at the intersect between Indigenous rights and environmental rights. Around this time, I was also chosen to join the Nia Tero Leadership Fellows Programme, which instilled in me a broader vision of Indigenous environmental guardianship not only for the Cook Islands but for the whole planet. With this increased practical knowledge, I returned to Auckland in 2019 to start a one-year Master of Indigenous Studies at UoA. I chose Indigenous Studies to enhance my knowledge of Indigenous rights movements globally, decolonize my thinking, and carry out a research thesis on “Traditional Resource Management Practices in Rarotonga”. I completed this programme with First Class Honours, and at this point I finally stopped feeling like an “imposter” at uni. Since 2020, I have been in the workforce in Aotearoa, working with Aotearoa Māori and Pacific communities and I have been gaining experience across three very different roles: 1) a Project Manager for a large-scale forest restoration project in Gisborne, 2) a Senior Pasifika Specialist for Auckland Council, and 3) my current role as a Pacific Indigenous Knowledge Curator for an upcoming Natural Environment Gallery at Auckland Museum. In December 2024 I commenced a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pacific Studies, after I realized it could serve as a pathway to launch myself back into both living in and serving our nation. A PhD requires a minimum of three years study, full time.
For a PhD you need to produce a large piece of written work, around 100,000 words, which is entirely your own and it has to be a topic that has not been written about by somebody else. In Pacific Studies, we are concerned with peoples and places of our Moana Nui o Kiva at local and regional scale. A key aspect of Pacific Studies is we often use comparative approaches. For example, how does the history of the islands within our current nation “The Cook Islands” intertwine with those of Māʻohi Nui (French Polynesia), or the Hawaiian Islands? What are our similarities culturally? Where have we faced similar colonial impacts and where have they been different? What might the future between our Indigenous peoples look like I am only in my fourth month, but my research will look at terraced pondfield agriculture, inspired by what I have learnt from aunty Celine Dyer on our family lands in Anakitao, in the Takuvaine Valley. Such terraced pond fields are found across mountainous islands in Te Moana Nui o Kiva and as far as Taiwan. So we can compare and contrast our applications of this method of agriculture. For example, Hawaiʻi is currently leading the way in revitalisation of these agricultural methods.
I think one of the best things about the research I’ve done and the projects I’ve been involved in, is seeing the reconnection of our Moana Nui o Kiva peoples in ways that creates solidarity between one another, while protecting our moana and individual island ecosystems. After the PhD I plan to live in Rarotonga, and contribute to the development of the nation, while strengthening relationships between ʻAvaiki Nui and our Moana Nui o Kiva relatives. I am interested in a career that upholds Indigenous and Environmental rights. Perhaps I could achieve this through securing funding for a large-scale ecological restoration project or maybe working in government, not sure yet! In terms of social life, there was probably too much socializing in my undergraduate years, but they have led to the formation of lifelong friendships which I am truly grateful for.
These days because I have a job, children, and side projects, I have much less time for that (a social life). It may sound boring but I now enjoy sharing a bowl of kava with like-minded friends where we can ʻuriʻuri manako different topics affecting our Moana Nui o Kiva, and dream for a future. Financing my study has also been hard, I never had scholarships in all my previous years of study. So, I lived off a student allowance and part-time work. I had to put a pause on a law degree two years ago because I couldn’t afford to fund it myself.
The PhD became the more realistic option because I was able to get a scholarship, based on the grades I received during my Masters. The exciting thing about a PhD in Pacific Studies is that it is transdisciplinary, meaning you are encouraged to look at your research topic from several different disciplines (subjects) and consider how they relate to each other. For example, I am interested in looking at taro cultivation on Rarotonga from a number of lenses including: Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge, Climate Change, Ecology, Archaeology, Law, and Geographic Information Systems.
My advice to those struggling with uni now is take it one step at a time. Focus on each assignment as it comes and try to remember that time will go quickly. Sometimes you need to accept the feeling of “having no life” while you focus on assignments, but before you know it, it's time to graduate. At the same time, make sure you designate time to take a break to avoid burnout. Also, surround yourself with like-minded friends who you can talk to about your subjects and support each other.
-Liam Kokaua
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