This study investigates how Māori and other indigenous scholars make a distinctive contribution to the disciplinary knowledge bases that drive national development in Aotearoa. It explores the ways that Māori and indigenous scholars become academics; how they shape their interactions and relationships with their institutions of higher learning; how they engage with their disciplines; and, how they transform academic knowledge in ways that support and sustain their (cultural and /or tribal) communities. This project also explores the challenges and possibilities that senior Māori and other indigenous intellectuals encounter along the way.