The idea of the 'intercultural hyphen' is likened to a gap or bridge between ethnic groups, created from the ongoing intertwining of sociopolitical and intellectual histories. This 'gap or bridge' wording captures the paradoxical nature of the intercultural space, for which the 'hyphen' is a shorthand symbol or sign. There are options on either side to engage or disengage across the intercultural space represented by the hyphen--but how, and with what results? In Aotearoa New Zealand, tensions invoked by the indigenous-settler hyphen are worked through every day in a multitudinous range of real-world scenarios. The purpose of this article is to combine critical Maori readings with critical Pakeha readings to discuss the intercultural hyphen as a theoretical concept in education, showing how Maori and Kaupapa Maori benefit from this concept, and arguing for stronger engagement of critical Maori scholarship in the field of philosophy and theory of education.