aerial view of Western's campus at night facing northwest, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

Western staffer takes sabbatical in Aotearoa New Zealand

Jacob Joens-Poulton researched indigenization efforts in Aotearoa universities

by Ava Nicholas

University Communications intern

Jacob Joens-Poulton stands on the roadside by his rental van in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Jacob Joens-Poulton.

WWU Regional Admissions Representative and alum Jacob Joens-Poulton spent nine months sleeping in a beat-up old van, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and traveling across the entire nation of Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand.

Joens-Poulton wanted to embark on a sabbatical that could enrich WWU’s engagement and relationship-building efforts with Native and Indigenous tribes and students.

“I remember hearing about Aotearoa and that they definitely had a very different experience and history with supporting indigenization,” said Joens-Poulton. “And I thought it’d be a perfect place to go to learn more about those things.”

It’s a little-known fact that after working at Western for six years, staff, not just professors, can take up to a year off, unpaid, provided they spend that time on something relevant to their work at the university. Joens-Poulton saved for six years before his sabbatical and chose to travel frugally while living off those savings.

While there is good work being done at Western after years of student advocacy to support the Lummi, Nooksack, Upper Skagit, and other Coast Salish peoples, like the construction of the new House of Healing on campus, Joens-Poulton wondered if Western could learn anything from universities in Aotearoa.

Craftspeople work in Te Puia Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rotorua. Photo courtesy of Jacob Joens-Poulton.

“I traveled to Aotearoa New Zealand under the impression that the country as a whole has done far more to recognize and respect its Indigenous heritage than the United States. While Coast Salish artwork and names are visible throughout Washington, Native cultural and institutional — not to mention political — representation remains largely sidelined or ignored,” said Joens-Poulton in his resulting report on his observations.

Joens-Poulton was adamant that his report is intended to supplement the current work being done to improve Western’s support for Indigenous students, not to overshadow the generations of work that have already been done. His report does not push for any specific actions to be taken, but simply details the various ways Aotearoa New Zealand universities operate with Māori ways of life in mind.

Over his nine-month sabbatical in Aotearoa New Zealand, Joens-Poulton visited three universities and learned about how each school supported Māori students and engaged with indigenization efforts. He visited Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland; Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington; and Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha, University of Canterbury.

Ngā Mokopuna (formerly the Living Pa) under construction at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. Photo courtesy of Jacob Joens-Poulton.

“I didn’t want to go in with any presumptions that I would have answers. I just had to go in there with humility. I’m just here to ask questions,” said Joens-Poulton. “And I made some early efforts to connect with staff down in Auckland, at the university there, and they were so incredibly generous and happy to talk more.”

Joens-Poulton was able to attend events focused on Māori students and learned about the various programs each school had in place to ensure Māori ways of thinking and being were foundational to each university.

“They really were just like, ‘We're very proud of what we’re working on. This is a unique thing, and you should absolutely take this back to the U.S.,” said Joens-Poulton. “Because of that, it made establishing relationships and introductions with other universities a lot easier.”

One program, at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, will support the revitalization of te reo Māori, the Māori language. Currently, all staff and students have the opportunity to engage in te reo Māori courses, and the program will result in 50% of staff having basic competency in te reo Māori by 2040.

Each university Joens-Poulton visited also has a designated program or office that uplifts Māori students and provides services to help support students through any challenges they may face. The programs are open to all students regardless of their heritage, and Joens-Poulton was often told by staff that non-Māori students often prefer their services compared to broader university resources.

“I think that Western is a really special place. There’s a reason I’ve continued to work here even after graduating so long ago,” said Joens-Poulton, a 2017 Human Services graduate. “I really think that the education here does a lot to engage with uncomfortable topics and matters of historical injustice in a really valuable way. But I also believe that there’s always more to be done.”

Ava Nicholas is the 2025-26 Tahlequah Intern, a paid internship made possible by a generous gift through The Foundation for WWU & Alumni and overseen by the Salish Sea Institute and the Office of University Communications. She is a Journalism-Public Relations and Theatre major, with an Honors minor.