Claudia Orange is the Practice Leader Research at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, having previously headed the museum's History and Pacific Cultures section. She was General Editor of the multi-volume, award-winning Dictionary of New Zealand Biography from 1990 to 2003. She was also Acting Chief Historian from 1997 to 2000 in the History Group of the Department of Internal Affairs, and then 2002-2003 was Senior Historian in Te Ara, the online Encyclopedia of New Zealand in the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. She has produced several works on the Treaty of Waitangi - from the award-winning Treaty of Waitangi (1987) to An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi (2004). She has written widely on early New Zealand history and on twentieth century race relations, and was foundation chair of the National Oral History Association of New Zealand (NOHANZ). Dr Claudia Orange was appointed the OBE in 1993, received the University of Auckland's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997, and was awarded the honour of Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand in 2009.