Travel and Learning Award for Ria Holmes
Borrin Foundation Travel and Learning Award
Ria’s plan
Ria is using the Travel and Learning Award to attend an Indigenous Law Research Methodologies intensive at the University of Victoria in Canada. This intensive will explore ways of working with Indigenous legal traditions. From this course Ria will further develop Indigenous Methodology understandings and apply this learning to Kaupapa Māori research approaches in Aotearoa.
About Ria
Ria Te Uira Holmes (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Pākehā) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Law at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. In this role she is supporting the development of the tikanga legal curriculum. Ria’s research interests span Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga Māori, labour and Indigenous methodologies. She completed her LLB and BA at the University of Waikato and her PhD at Te Herenga Waka. Before entering academia, she worked in the trade union sector, grounding her scholarship in advocacy, collective rights, and social justice. Ria is passionate about Indigenous research and supporting Māori success within legal education.
Grant Amount
$10,000 in 2026 to support travel
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to engage with and learn from Indigenous colleagues in Canada. I look forward to further developing my understanding of Indigenous legal methodologies and applying these insights to research in Aotearoa.”