Hinematau Naomi McNeill (also writing under Naomi Te Hiini) is a New Zealand academic and treaty negotiator. She is of Tapuika Māori descent. As of 2019, she is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology.^[1]

Early life and education

McNeill was born in Rotorua. She studied her B.A. and M.A. in social anthropology at Auckland University and Waikato University.^[2][3] She is currently principal lecturer in Māori Studies at Auckland Institute of Technology.^[2]

Career

After graduating, McNeill returned to Rotorua, teaching at Waiariki Community College including development of their Māori Studies B.A. course.^[2] She additionally advocated for mandatory domestic violence reporting and the founding of Māori women's refuges during the 1980s.^[1]

In 1997, she joined the Te Ara Poutama department of Māori and indigenous development at Auckland University of Technology.^[1] Whist there, she also completed a PhD in 2007 titled 'Te hau ora o naga kaumatua o Tuhoe: a study of Tuhoe kaumatua mental wellness', rising to full professor in 2019.^[1][2][4]

During this time, she also acted as a treaty negotiator for her iwi, settling with the crown in 2014.^[1] She is also an advocate for the Maori language, co-creating a teaching app in 2020.^[5]

Selected works

• McNeill, Hinematau Naomi. "Māori and the natural environment from an occupational justice perspective." Journal of Occupational Science 24, no. 1 (2017): 19–28.
• McNeill, Hinematau. "Attitudes to family violence: Maori study." Attitudes to Family Violence–A Study Across Cultures (1986).
• McNeill, Hinematau. "A critical reflection of ethical issues in research." (2008).
• McNeill, H. N. "Maori models of mental wellness." (2009).
• Attitudes to Family Violence: A Study Across Cultures. Prepared by Synergy Research Limited & Hinematau McNeill, Jane von Dadelszen, Alison Gray, Emele Duituturaga & Raewyn Good, Rosemary Ash. Wellington, N.Z.: Family Violence Prevention Co-ordinating Committee c/- Department of Social Welfare, 1988.