Tēnā koutou e ngā rangatira, ngā tangata whenua o te Ao. Greetings all distinguished indigenous peoples of the World.

I am of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne descent through our mother and Scottish and English descent through our father. Ngāti Kahungunu is one of the largest tribes located on the east coast of Aotearoa, while Rangitāne is also on the same coastline just further south.

     I was born in the Cook Islands, were there is a close association with the Takitimu waka, the canoe of the Ngāti Kahungunu ancestors, to whom I whakapapa (connect genealogically). I was educated in Wellington; the capital of Aotearoa and I am currently completing a Master of Indigenous Studies.

     Under the auspices of a government department I lived and worked in India and Belgium, followed by working as a kaiako (lecturer) on social work programmes in two tertiary institutions. In between work as a kaiako I was employed at Whirinaki, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service attached to Counties Manukau District Health Board in south Auckland.

While I am a registered social worker, my education is really in Sociology, Anthropology and History but due to the ‘strong’ encouragement of a kaumatua (elder) Turoa Haronga, because I was facilitating learning on a social work programme, I completed competency to practice and then registration as a social worker.

     My passion and commitment are to progress tangata whenua knowledge and skills in any field of practice and to challenge mainstream / generic services, where constraint of the legitimacy to practice as the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa may be evident. In keeping with this commitment, I also work to tautoko (support) all indigenous peoples in the same endeavours. Mauriora!

                                                                           Miriama R. Scott