Margaret Mutu is of Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua and Scottish descent. She is the Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland where she teaches and conducts research on Māori language, tikanga (law), history and traditions, rights and sovereignty, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, constitutional transformation and Māori resistance to British colonisation, and Māori-Chinese encounters. She holds a BSc in mathematics, an MPhil in Māori Studies, a PhD in Māori Studies specialising in linguistics and a DipTchg. She has published four books:

• a grammar of the `Ua Pou dialect of Marquesan (2002);
• the history and traditions of her hapū, Te Whānau Moana (2003);
• her collection of annual reviews of issues affecting Māori, The State of Māori Rights (2011, revised edition 2026);
• Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation, on the traditions, history and Tiriti o Waitangi claims of her iwi (nation), Ngāti Kahu (2017).

She has also published many articles and book chapters, provided expert evidence to the courts on many occasions, and is called on frequently by local, national and international media to provide information and expert commentary.

Margaret is the chair of her iwi parliament, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu of the Far North and of two of her marae. She has been a mandated representative of Ngāti Kahu and of Māori in a number of national and international fora. She has three children, six grandchildren and a huge extended family.

Distinctions/Honours:

- Te Tohu Manu Toroa – Lifetime Achievement Award – Hall of Fame, Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori (National Iwi Radio Network), October 2025 (for 30 years of contributions, support and guidance for Te Hiku Media)
- Visiting Professor, Kamakakūokalani Center of Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai`i (Mānoa), Honolulu, 2020.
- Visiting Professor, Critical Indigenous Studies at the Vancouver Campus, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2019
- Fellow, Royal Society of New Zealand, 2017
- Pou Aronui Medal, Royal Society of New Zealand, 2015 (for distinguished service to the humanities-aronui over a sustained period of time)
- Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden grant, 2015-19
- Crown Forestry Rental Trust research grants 2005-11; 2023-2026
- Visiting Professor, Departments of Native American Studies, Linguistics and Anthropology, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA 2009
- Visiting Professor, Postgraduate School of International Affairs, University of Le Havre, France 2007
- Visiting Fellow, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University 2001
- University of Auckland Distinguished Teaching Award 1994
- Research Intern, East-West Center, Hawai'i 1984
- Ngarimu VC and 28th Māori Battalion Postgraduate Scholar 1984
- University Grants Committee Postgraduate Scholar 1984

Responsibilities:
- Head of Māori Studies 2001-2007, 2009-2013
- Chair, Te Whare Kura Indigenous Knowedges, Peoples and Identities Research Initiative Steering Committee 2009-2013, 2014-15
- Chair, Matike Mai Aotearoa Constitutional Transformation Working Party 2010 - on-going
- Chair, Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism 2014 - on-going
- Chair, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu 2002 - on-going
- Chief Researcher and Negotiator, Ngāti Kahu Tiriti o Waitangi claims against the English Crown 1984 - on-going

Committee/Professional groups/Services:
- Chair, Monitoring Mechanism (monitoring the New Zealand government's compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), 2014 - on-going
- Chair, Te Whare Kura: The Indigenous Knowledges, Peoples and Identities Thematic Research Initiative Steering Committee, UoA, 2009-2013, 2014-15
- Chair, Matike Mai Aotearoa Constitutional Transformation Working Party 2010 - on-going
- Member, Faculty of Arts Research Committee 2009-2013, 2014-16
- Member, Faculty of Arts Staffing Committee 2014-16, 2020 - on-going
- Member of the editorial board of AlterNative - A Journal of Indigenous Scholarship 2009-15
- Member, Māori Knowledge and Development Panel of the Performance Based Research Fund, Tertiary Education Commission 2003, 2006-7
- Referee for many journals and funding agencies
- Auditor, New Zealand Vice Chancellors' Academic Audit Unit 1995 - 2012
- Member of a number of review teams and degree evaluation panels
- Member, Foundation for Research Science and Technology SET Advisory Committee 2006-7
- Director, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd 1991-6
- Member, New Zealand Conservation Authority 1993-6
- Chair, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu 2002 - on-going
- Chair, Kapehu marae, Northern Wairoa 1993 - on-going
- Chair, Karikari marae, Far North 2004 - on-going
- Member, National Iwi Chairs' Forum representing Ngāt Kahu 2005 - on-going
- Representative for Ngāti Kahu and for National Iwi Chairs Forum in meetings of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2015 - on-going
- Representative for Ngāti Kahu, in meetings of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 2008 - on-going
- Chief Researcher and Negotiator for Ngāt Kahu Tiriti o Waitangi claims against English Crown 1984 - on-going

Qualifications:
BSc, MPhil, PhD Auckland, FRSNZ, DipTchg

Areas of Expertise:
Māori studies: language, oral traditions and histories; translation studies; He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and Māori resistance to the negative impacts of English/European immigration and British colonisation; constitutional transformation; Māori resource ownership, management and development; Māori and indigenous rights; Māori-Chinese encounters.

Media Keywords:
Histories of hapu, Histories of iwi, Kaitiakitanga, Polynesian linguistics, Constitutional Transformation in NZ, Ngāti Kahu, Oral traditions, Te Hiku o te Ika, Te Rarawa, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Translation studies, Rating of Māori land, Māori claims, Māori history, Māori customary fisheries, Māori linguistics, Māori oral traditions, Māori practices of conservation, Māori resource management, Māori rights, Māori sovereignty, Māori-Chinese encounters