Professor Jacinta Ruru, MNZM, of Port Chalmers, for services to Māori and the law
Professor Jacinta Ruru lectures at the University of Otago’s Faculty of Law.
She has published widely on Indigenous peoples’ rights, interests and responsibilities to own and care for lands and waters.
She is an advocate for recognising tikanga Māori in law and decolonising the tertiary sector, and has co-founded many initiatives.
She co-directed Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research.
She was the first Māori professor of law and one of the first Māori women elected Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Professor Ruru holds Ministerial appointments to Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand Board and Kāhui Wai Māori, the Māori Freshwater Forum.