Caption: Assoc Prof Dion Enari who friends, family and supporters at Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae, Unitec.
Lefaoalii Dion Enari has been welcomed at Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae.
The Samoan academic was joined by a large delegation of his family, close friends and staff from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) who supported him in a traditional handing over ceremony.
“In the short time you’ve been with us, you have fully immersed yourself here at Unitec. You’ve been everywhere,” said Deputy CE, Academic Professor Martin Carroll, in his welcome address.
“The job you have here is massive. I’m sorry it’s taken Unitec so long to have Pacific expertise as part of our Professoriate. We should have got there sooner but we’re here now. It doesn’t all have to rest on your shoulders, but you’re going to pave the way.
Unitec kaimahi present at his pōwhiri included members of the Senior Leadership Team, Heads of Schools, support services and kaimahi from the Pacific Centre and Maori/MAIA teams.
“You will I hope be the first of many Pacific members of the Professoriate here. You are our hope, the first of many who will fulfill the promise that we try to make every day that we will be relevant and meaningful partners for Pacific people here in Tāmaki Makaurau and generally,” said Prof Carroll.
Associate Professor, Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Byron Rangiwai added: “Lefaoali’i brings to Unitec a dedicated focus on Indigenous knowledge, Pacific languages, and decolonising education.”
“Through his scholarship, leadership, and commitment to Indigenous knowledge, he will broaden research and learning opportunities, particularly for Māori and Pacific communities. His presence will strengthen culturally responsive academic spaces that empower students and staff, inspiring meaningful engagement with Indigenous perspectives in education and beyond.”
Lefaoalii, 35, was humbled by the experience and what it means to him and his family.
“It’s surreal, it’s a dream from many years ago finally coming true,” said Lefaoalii, whose aunt was a cleaner at Unitec in the 1990s.
“I think of a lot of the people who’ve helped me along the way in terms of my academic journey so just to ensure that I be that person who will pay it forward since I have been blessed by so many people who’ve helped me.”
He also reflected on the significance of his arrival at Unitec and the difference it will make to the academic community.
“I look at this title not in terms of a title from the ivory tower, but a title where I can represent my people more effectively and to make that real life impactful change and to use my research as a form of tautua (service) to our communities and future Māori and Pacific generations to come,” he explains.
Among those who accompanied him was his mother who travelled from Australia, family members who flew in from America and former colleagues from AUT. Family members also carried a photo of his late grandmother Kiki Evelyn Lucy Caroline Langkilde Purcell.
“This was to acknowledge her vision to come from Samoa to Aotearoa which is the reason why I am here today.”
Assoc Prof Lefaoalii Dion Enari works across Ngā Wai a Te Tūī (Māori and Indigenous Research Centre) and Unitec’s School of Healthcare and Social Practice.
Read Lefaoalii Dion Enari’s full interview below:
- Firstly, congratulations on your new role and welcome to the Unitec whānau. How did this opportunity come about and what was your reason for coming to Unitec?I had seen the job advertised and thought why not give it a go. I chose Unitec because I always loved the feel of it. From being a young child seeing my older cousins get their qualifications here. I knew it was a place I would always want to work at.
- You are said to be Unitec’s first ever Associate Professor of Pacific heritage. How does it feel to have that recognition?It makes me both happy and sad to know this. I am humbled and blessed to be the first Pacific Associate Professor at Unitec, but also sad that the first one is in 2025. May we have more soon.
- Can you tell us about yourself, where you’re from, what are you most passionate about and what inspired you to pursue a career in academia?I am a New Zealand-born Samoan who was raised in Brisbane, Australia and spent a lot of time in Samoa. I am the eldest of four boys, and whakapapa to the villages of Nofoali’i, Lepa, Malaela, Safune, Vaiusu and Vaiala in Samoa.
I enjoy going to family events and Indigenous performing arts. I am most passionate about Indigenous research. How we use our Indigenous knowledge systems to change research practices as we know it. I knew I wanted to be an academic, when my high school teacher laughed at me when I told her I wanted to go to university. It was from there that I knew I had to serve my people in the tertiary realm.
- What motivates, inspires, and drives you as a researcher, especially one as prolific as yourself?As a Samoan, and Indigenous person we have a long history of research malpractice that was imposed on us and dehumanised us. By being in research, I can correct some of these wrongs and ensure research is done for Indigenous by Indigenous.
- What are your research plans for Unitec?Interdisciplinary collective cross collaboration between colleagues across Unitec.
I am a huge believer in using different areas of expertise to answer a question. We could have a collaborative publication with every school on climate change maybe? The possibilities are endless.Bridging community and industry research collaborations
How we can get practitioners and industry partners to not only research, collaborate, but also co-author on publications and build their research capacity so their work and expertise is properly acknowledged in research.Increasing research capacity and upskilling with our students.
Not only helping our students graduate. But also getting them involved in research projects and publishing. How we can increase the pipeline of roles for our students who wish to be researchers. - Much of your research is in the areas of sport and cultural identity, where does that interest stem from?This interest came from the limited number of research outputs that are done by Indigenous academics on Indigenous sporting issues. I also had an interest in this intersection because a lot of the media outputs on Indigenous people and sport are done in a non-accurate and degrading manner. If this continues, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous can internalise these negative narratives as complete truth. I’m passionate about changing the narrative around and ensuring we are properly represented with mana.
- What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a Pacific researcher?Research is meant to serve the people you are researching with. If it does not do that, you are merely extracting data from a community for your own gain. Although the history of research is premised on data extraction, we can push back on these practices now, where everyone wins.
- Why is it important to see more Pacific people in academia and how can Unitec address the lack of numbers?The more Pacific people there are in academia the more power Pacific communities will inform policy and research. It’s a numbers game. Unitec can help this by hiring more Pacific, and ensuring we get more Pacific students, graduating them and pipelining them to good careers to then feed back into the Pacific pipeline. – positioning Unitec as first choice Pacific provider
- What is an achievement or milestone you’re most proud off and why?It would be getting my PhD and my tatau (Samoan male tattoo). Because they were both the hardest mental journey and happiest once completed lol.
My PhD was on New Zealand-born Samoans who reside in Brisbane, Australia and their perceptions of the Samoan culture. This was kind of a thesis on my life journey, but also a way of amplifying Pacific Australia stories, which are almost invisible in research. My tatau was important as in the Samoan culture, a man is only fully clothed once he receives his tatau. The litres of blood I lost, and the swelling and bruising were all worth it, to permanently wear this taonga.
- What is interesting in your world right now?Global Indigenous networking. Seeing how Indigenous peoples around the world are mobilizing together to stand in solidarity with each other on certain issues.
What does Aotearoa have to share with the world in Indigenous issues, and what can we learn from the rest of the world?