ABOUT US / KO WAI MĀTOU

Our core values / Oo taatou tikanga

At Learn Māori Abroad we are committed to providing authentic, one-of-a-kind Māori cultural experiences and high-quality, engaging classes and workshops for learners living abroad.

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Our language and cultural classes are based on the following core values:

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• WHAKAMANA: To empower Māori language & culture learners who live outside of Aotearoa New Zealand.

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• WHANAUNGATANGA: To create community and connectedness among learners abroad.

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• TOMONGA: To provide access to learning Māori abroad through online classes, in-person workshops, resources and other learning materials.

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• TAUTOKO: To support you on your Māori language and culture journey.

We invite you to join us for a language class or a haka workshop online or in-person.  We look forward to partnering with you on you Māori language and culture journey.

AMELIA BUTLER

Owner, Founder & Kaiako / Teacher

Amelia Butler is an indigenous Māori performer, dancer, choreographer and instructor from Aotearoa New Zealand. She has been teaching and performing dance at an international level for over 20 years. Amelia moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a career in dance and has worked as a professional dancer in the LA entertainment industry. She founded and leads Los Angeles based traditional Māori performance group, Ngā Ānahera Māori, teaches te reo Māori online and teaches haka & poi workshops in the US.  Amelia’s tribal affiliations are Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Awa.  She is proud to share her culture abroad.

FRANÇOISE AROHA DANOY

Kaiaawhina / Teaching Assistant

Francoise, aka Frenchie, is a Franco-Māori (Ngāti Porou) Australian American living in San Antonio, Texas. She started her Te Reo Māori language journey mid-late 2019, as part of her journey to connecting back to her cultural heritage, joining Amelia's program early 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her day job is knitwear design: she designs and publishes knitting patterns with an emphasis on documenting this journey.

EMMA MORRIS

Social Media Manager

Emma is an active part of the Learn Māori Abroad team.  She provides unique, educational and inspiring content for our Social Media channels.  Emma is from Aotearoa, New Zealand.  She currently lives in Grapevine, Texas.  To view her posts click here & here.