Veronica Makere Hupane Tawhai is a New Zealand academic and an associate professor at Massey University.^[1]

Tawhai identifies her heritage as Māori, British and Irish. She affiliates to the Māori nations Ngāti Uepohatu and Ngāti Porou.^[2][3] She grew up in Palmerston North and spent time also in Mahora near Ruatorea.^[2]

Tawhai has a Bachelor of Arts from Massey University where she majored in social policy and Māori studies. Mason Durie was leading Māori studies at that time. She went on to complete a Master of Education (2007) and a Doctor of Philosophy (2020).^[1] Tawhai's PhD included research on 'citizenship education in settler colonial societies'.^[4]

Tawhai was the president of the Māori Student Union at university.^[2] Tawhai was a founder of Te Ata Kura (Society for Conscientisation), a political education group where mentors included Moana Jackson and Mereana Pitman.^[2][5]

Tawhai started at Massey University as a lecturer in 2008. She is now an associate professor and lectures in policy and politics at Te Pūtahi a Toi and is Pūkenga Tiriti (Tiriti Capability Lead).^[1][5] In the role of Pūkenga Tiriti, Tawhai was appointed in 2022 and is leading a project in the university for new standards in 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi analysis, practice and implementation across all areas of the university'.^[6][7]

Her fields of research include the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori and youth political engagement and constitutional change.^[1] Research into the 2020 general election in New Zealand found that Māori voters experienced some negative issues at the polling booths.^[8] Tawhai is also a Treaty educator outside of her university work.^[9]

Between 2012 and 2017 she was a member of Matike Mai Aotearoa, coordinating the Rangatahi Youth for Constitutional Transformation education project, she authored the Rangatahi: Progress and Findings Report (2014).^[1][5]

In 2024 Tawhai was one of the nine presenters at M9 at the Civic Theatre, Auckland in its 6th instalment, Ka Tohe Au, Ka Tohe Au! I AM THE SOVEREIGN.^[10][9]  

• Fulbright-Nga Pae o Te Maramatanga scholarship award^[1][11]
• Life membership - Te Mana Ākonga (the National Māori Tertiary Students Association)
• Research fellowship - Centre for World Indigenous Studies - The Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA, USA)
• Research fellowship - National Centre for Indigenous Studies, Australian National University (Canberra, Australia).

Scholia has a profile for Veronica Tawhai (Q106947044).

• Co-authored with M. Mulholland Weeping waters: The Treaty of Waitangi and constitutional change, (2010) Wellington, Huia Publishers^[12]
• Tawhai, VMH., & Cheyne, CM. (2009). “Like, if it’s really important, they should be saying!” Research with Rangatahi Māori about Local Political Participation.. He Pukenga Kōrero. 9(1), 52-63 [Journal article]
• Tawhai, VMH. (2008). Teaching Diversity, Advancing Democracy: Challenges for Citizenship Education in Aotearoa New Zealand. The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations. 8(4), 153-160 [Journal article]
• Warren, KTR., Forster, ME., & Tawhai, V. (2017). Tangata whenua: Māori identity and belonging. In T. Cain, E. Kahu, & RH. Shaw (Eds.) Tūrangawaewae: Identity and belonging in Aotearoa New Zealand. (pp. 53 – 69). 2017: Massey University Press [Chapter]
• Tawhai, VMH. (2016). Indigenous peoples and indigeneity. In The Palgrave International Handbook of Education for Citizenship and Social Justice. (pp. 97 – 119). [Chapter]
• Tawhai, VM.(2014). Matike Mai Aotearoa Rangatahi: Progress and Findings Report June 2014. [Technical Report]