Safua Akeli Amaama

Safua Akeli Amaama is head of New Zealand and Pacific Histories and Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Previously, she was director (2018–2020) of the Centre for Sāmoan Studies at the National University of Sāmoa and oversaw three teaching programmes: Sāmoan Language and Culture, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, and Development Studies. Safua has research interests in cultural heritage, gender, governance, health and migration. She has a PhD in History from the University of Queensland, Australia. Her thesis focused on examining Sāmoa-New Zealand relations through key exhibitions from 1923 to 2007.

For more information, read about Safua's current project Sāmoan multiplicities and visit her webpage.