“Where there’s a knowledge gap, we are there.”

Lagi-Maama Academy & Consultancy (Lagi-Maama) is a cultural organization that act as mediators between instituions and our Moana Oceania communities. In talanoa with Moana Fresh, the pair described the nature of the work they do: “we create, morph and make things fit into spaces they traditionally don’t.”

For the duo, this can look like:

• connecting and building bridges between institutions and communities through research and writing
• community connection and engagement
• curatorial advice and critique
• capacity and capability building
• cultural intelligence and cross-cultural approaches

Central to their work is privileging Indigenous ways of being and ways of knowing, seeing, and doing – and, essentially filling in the knowledge gaps that exist within institutions, because of their colonial foundations and system biases. Lagi-Maama truly recognises the value of our people, by amplifying the voices, knowledges and practices of Moana Oceania communities, from the homelands to the wider diaspora. Māhina-Tuai says that “Cultural institutions have major knowledge gaps in their fale around our diverse Moana Oceania worldviews.” Lagi-Maama shared that their business is catering to critically addressing this problem.

The name of the business was gifted by Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu Professor ‘Ōkusitino Māhina. It honours their service towards Moana Oceania peoples, mirroring the foundation of Indigeneity and business approach, while symbolically acknowledging ancestral lineages and connections in an authentic way.