Her principal research is on the concept of kaitiakitanga (or guardianship) within Māori culture.

Affiliating to the Ngāti Whātua and Ngāpuhi iwi,[1] she is the daughter of Sir Hugh Kawharu.

[2] After a Rhodes Scholarship took her to Oxford University for a PhD in anthropology, Kawharu returned to the New Zealand to posts at the universities of Auckland and Otago and roles with the United Nations, UNESCO, NZ Historic Places Trust Board and Māori Heritage Council.

[5] In the 2012 New Year Honours, Kawharu was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori education.

You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This biographical article relating to a Māori person is a stub.