Nominated by Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui region it is our great pleasure to announce the recipient of the Robin Hakopa Te Reo Māori Award for 2016 is Ariana Tikao.
Ariana brings initiative, dedication and creativity to everything she does. She has worked in the role of Māori Specialist in our Arrangement and Description team at the Alexander Turnbull Library since December 2011.
She is a performer, composer, and taonga puoro exponent and regularly incorporates performances of her own original music into events and talks. [1]
Te Rōpū Whakahau
Ariana has been an active member of TRW including participation in the International Indigenous Librarians’ Forum (IILF).
Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku/Māori Subject Headings
Ariana is a strong advocate of the Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku/Māori Subject Headings kaupapa. In July 2013, she became a member of Te Whakakaokao (Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku Reo Māori Working Group). The appointment recognised Ariana’s in-depth knowledge of Te Reo Māori, and her commitment to Māori information seekers, sources and services in libraries and archives.
Exhibition. Borderland : The world of James Cowan
In 2014 Ariana curated the Turnbull Library exhibition Borderland : The world of James Cowan. James Cowan lived and wrote at the intersection of two worlds: Māori and Pākehā. Ariana’s exhibition was a personal response to Cowan’s influence on the development of New Zealand identity, as his papers include waiata from Ariana’s tīpuna, and she has composed new rangi for these waiata, enabling their kupu to be heard and sung by a new generation.
There was a substantial Te Reo component in the exhibition. Ariana worked with other Library staff to run a Reo Māori tour for students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna and her exhibition public programmes promoted both Te Reo and Tikanga Māori.
In the Workplace
Ariana has contributed to the Library’s activities for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori including a blog in 2012 about her own Reo journey titled, Arohatia te Reo.
And this is all in addition to her substantive role which has a mandate to promote Te Reo Māori by enhancing access to Māori material in the Turnbull using Māori subject headings.
Ariana’s profile in the workplace is one of gentle strength and generosity, and her dedication to and promotion of Te Reo Māori and tikanga Māori is an inspiration to her managers and colleagues.
[1] http://www.arianatikao.com/biography/
