Keynote Speakers : Hana O'Regan

Hana O'Regan
Hana O'Regan was raised in Wellington in a family immersed in Māori Treaty and identity politics. She received her secondary schooling at Queen Victoria Māori Girls Boarding School in Auckland before becoming an American Field Scholar in Thailand for one year. Hana returned to pursue an undergraduate degree with a double major in Māori Studies and Political Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington.
Upon graduating, Hana took up a lecturing position at University of Otago where she lectured for four years in the areas of Māori language, creative writing and the Treaty. During this time Hana undertook post-graduate study and graduated with her Master of Arts in 1997. The topic of her thesis, Māori tribal identity development, became the basis of her book, Ko Tahu Ko Au - Kāi Tahu Tribal Identity which was published in 2000.
Hana left Otago in 1997 to take up a position at CPIT (Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology) where she headed the Māori language programme before taking up the position of Head of School in 2000. After four years at CPIT Hana took up the position of Manager of the Māori Language Unit of the Ngāi Tahu tribal organisation where she helped develop and lead the tribal language strategy for a further four years. She returned to CPIT as Dean of Te Puna Wānaka, the new Faculty of Māori Studies, in 2006.
Hana has been a member of The Māori Language Commission - Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori - since 2003. The bulk of Hana's recent publications has been centred on Kāi Tahu tribal stories and histories for rakatahi, and most recently published an anthology of Māori poetry, Kupu with co-author Charisma Rangipunga.
She is the proud mum of two beautiful children.