Hundreds attended a hikoi to celebrate Māori Language Week in Kaitāia.
Hundreds attended a hikoi to celebrate Māori Language Week in Kaitāia.
Hundreds marched through Kaitāia for Māori Language Week, in what organisers called both a celebration of te reo Māori and a reminder of the language’s journey and place in Aotearoa.
Far North District councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira put the word out on Thursday and said she was pleasantly surprised by theturnout.
She said the hīkoi was to celebrate the te reo Māori petition on September 14, 1972, which was the catalyst for te reo being secured as an official language in New Zealand.
The 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori runs from September 14 to 20.
Halkyard-Harawira said the hīkoi was also about remembering those who fought to have te reo recognised.
She said the fight for te reo to be recognised had built on the sacrifices of people like Sir Graham and Lady Emily Latimer, who mortgaged their farm to fund legal battles that helped secure a ruling that established te reo as a language to be protected.
The victories laid the groundwork for a later law that made te reo an official language.
“From that, we got kura kaupapa, Māori radio and language week.”
She said the movement saw communities band together to save and protect the language, and it will continue for generations to come.
“Our young people are dynamic and have been saying in national Māori speech competitions, we will not go back. They farewell the old world and are moving forward. They are saying there is a great vision for the future, and we will not ask permission to speak te reo and we will promote it.”
Far North District councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira (left) with the Aupouri Ngati Kahu Te Rarawa Trust general manager, Trudy Brown, at the hīkoi.
Māori activist and former MP Hone Harawira has been involved in the campaign for promoting te reo for many years and said this was an extension of that.
He said to see the kura and kohanga and so many others turn up on such short notice was encouraging for the future of te reo.
He said policies and changes by the Government around the language would not change the drive to celebrate it.
“It is soul-destroying to find they are trying to take Māori names out of the passport and off road signs and words out of books, it’s so very hard to comprehend, there is no sense in it.
“I am happy to say that it’s too late for Government or for anyone else that thinks they can stop it now. It’s a horse that has bolted, and it’s not possible to pull it back.
“There are activities all around the district to promote the native language, and our sincere hope is if we do it and others can see it as something to celebrate and not something to demean and belittle, it will prosper. Our language is something to be treasured, embraced and showcased to the world and never something to be held back.”
Aupōuri Ngāti Kahu Te Rarawa (Ant) Trust general manager Trudy Brown said it was particularly important to celebrate te reo, because some government policies were a possible threat.
“The current environment is one where Government is trying to take te reo out of schoolbooks, change government departments back to English names only. It feels like the language is at risk.”
She said that in both her personal and professional spaces she has seen change, with many wanting to learn the language.
“It is frustrating that the Government doesn’t seem to want to promote it, but on the other hand it’s encouraging to see many wanting to learn. I have seen many non-Māori making an effort to learn, and the more people that know it, the more it will continue to grow.”
