[2] Her research work delves into texts by Māori, Pacific and Indigenous peoples that tell Indigenous stories in order to go beyond the constraints of the limited stories told about them.
[4] Since 2021, Te Punga Somerville is Professor of English and of Critical Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia.
Her previously held academic posts have been Senior Lecturer in the School of English at Victoria University of Wellington (2005–2012), Associate Professor Department of English University of Hawai'i at Manoa (2012–2015) and Senior Lecturer Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University 2015 – 2017.
[5] [6] Te Punga Somerville completed a Master of Arts in English at the University of Auckland.
She then completed her PhD in English and American Indian Studies at Cornell University in 2004.