Te reo guardian was once non speaker

Ken Kennedy didn't speak te reo Maori as a child - yet today he is one of the language's greatest advocates.

Mr Kennedy, who is the kaumatua of Waiariki Institute of Technology, received an Honorary Doctorate from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya University in India earlier this year in recognition of his work preserving and maintaining Maori culture while helping it grow and develop in the modern age.

Just hours before attending a formal function at Waiariki on Friday to celebrate receiving the Doctorate, Mr Kennedy reflected on his life.

"I was born in Rotorua and grew up in Ngati Pikiao, raised on my sacred courtyard, Te Pounamunui o Ngati Hinekura, beneath the shelter of my ancestral meeting house Houmaitawhiti at Otaramarae," he said.

"When my mother Piatarihi passed away, I was only 4 years old, and so my brother Punawaitai and I were brought up and nurtured by our grandmother, Mihitaurangi Rangawhenua of Tuhourangi - Ngati Wahiao," he said.

"My grandfather was Henare Keneti, from Ngati Hinekura of Ngati Pikiao, and had passed away two years earlier," he said.

"He was [a] steam engine train driver in the early 1900s and drove the train from Huntly to Rotorua," he said.

His grandfather, John Cheonneth Cameron, was an interpreter for the New Zealand Government and worked in the Cook Islands, and was married to Rangituruturu, a descendant of Wiremu Tamehana of the Ngati Haua tribe of Waikato Tainui, who was the originator of the Maori King Movement.

His father was Kenneth Cameron, who Mr Kennedy is named after.

Mr Kennedy lived on family land in a homestead at Otaramarae with his grandmother, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti, until he was 17.

Mr Kennedy has fond memories of growing up on the marae and in particular the delicious food.

"As kids we would wait till the men took the hangi meat off the hot rocks to the wharekai, they never used baskets those days, they just threw the meat on the rocks to be cooked.

"Once they removed the meat, we used to rush to eat the pakapaka meat still stuck to the hot rocks, it was delicious," he said.

As with most children, the young Ken also got up to his fair share of mischief.

"The elders were fairly strict to the children back then, we were not allowed to play in front of the ancestral meeting house, or climb a delicious plum tree on the edge of the lake in front of the marae, so we used to row across the lake on a waka tiwai (canoe), run up the bank, climb the tree and sit there eating plums, all the while watching the elders back at the marae.

"Once we were full we would climb down the tree, scramble back down the bank to the canoe and row back across the lake," he said.

When Mr Kennedy was old enough, he helped make money for his grandmother by mowing the lawns of some well-known Rotorua residents, Major Reiwhati Vercoe, the then Rotorua Magistrate Gavin Donne, and the QC and High Court Solicitor L P Leary at Otaramarae.

"Another fond memory of work I have as a child was being sent to the marae after school to help with the paintings of the kowhaiwhai designs for the new Houmaitawhiti meeting house," he said

"I helped my grandmother and her younger sister Araiteuru, who was married to Te Mapu o Te Rangi Morehu, with the tukutuku - turapa weaving panels," he said. "We weaved throughout the night."

However not all Mr Kennedy's memories are of pleasant times.

In 1876, The Native School Act had been passed which decreed that English would be the only language used to teach in schools. In 1903, when the "direct method" was introduced, the Maori language was banned outright.

As a child Mr Kennedy could sense his grandmother's anguish.

"Although she was fluent in te reo Maori, she never spoke the language to us at home, but every time she was on the phone, I could hear her speaking the language fluently," he said.

"In that era, her children - my mother's generation - were stopped from speaking the language at school, they were punished for it and a whole generation of the language was lost," he said.

Mr Kennedy was educated at Whangamarino School, and attended Raukura, (Rotorua Boys' High School), before heading off around the country to work.

Mr Kennedy met his soon-to-be wife, Sharon, while in Christchurch, and remembers his elation upon finding out she too was from Rotorua.

"She had a large and caring whanau," he said. Upon their return to Rotorua, Mr Kennedy recalls some strong words from his soon-to-be uncle-in-law, the chief of her hapu Ngati Ngararanui, Wharekiri Whakaue.

"He said to me when we first met, 'So, you are intending to marry my niece are you?'

"I said 'Yes!"'

"He said 'Son, when you marry in to Ngati Ngararanui, you marry the tribe."'

And marry the tribe Mr Kennedy did.

Since that time, Mr Kennedy has worked hard to reconnect with his culture, learn the Maori language and pass it on.

Mr Kennedy enrolled at Waiariki Institute of Technology and was awarded a Certificate and Diploma in Maori Studies, followed by a Degree of Maori Studies (BMS) from Auckland University of Technology.

Mr Kennedy returned to Waiariki Institute of Technology and became a steady source of knowledge and support to all those wishing to reconnect with and advance their Maori language and culture.

Now, as kaumatua of Waiariki, he is often called upon for guidance, direction and pastoral support.

Mr Kennedy has strong opinions about the state that the Maori language is in, and reflects upon the changes he has seen in his lifetime, particularly in schools.

"Nowadays it has turned full circle, te reo Maori is being encouraged to be spoken and taught in all aspects of schooling," he said.

Mr Kennedy believes his grandmother would have been delighted to have seen the changes, and has strong opinions of how the language should be nurtured on into the future.

"I believe te reo Maori should be compulsory in schools, beginning with ECE (early childhood education) centres and on to primary and secondary school.

"I believe it will be a valuable experience if our children and grandchildren are given the chance to learn two languages, and one of those languages is Maori, because te reo Maori is an officially recognised language of New Zealand, so it should be compulsory in mainstream schools," he said.

Mr Kennedy also expressed concern over other languages being cheered as part of the curriculum.

"It has been brought to my attention that some schools are encouraging school pupils to learn foreign languages like Chinese, Spanish or French, alongside the English language, and excluding the Maori language altogether," he said.

"To learn those foreign languages is okay, but the Maori language should be compulsory alongside the English, and the foreign languages should be optional.

"The only issue I have about it being compulsory in schools is the lack of teachers fluent in te reo Maori, who would need to be teaching the language."

Mr Kennedy believes there are many benefits to having the Maori language compulsory in schools.

"It will no doubt support the notion of New Zealand being uniquely bilingual and, with more buy in from all New Zealanders, we will soon be recognised as a very uniquely bicultural country. No other country throughout the world speaks te reo Maori.

"Any child whose whanau is passionate about the Maori language should be encouraged to go to kohanga reo or kura kaupapa Maori, it should not be restricted to Maori children only," he said.

Mr Kennedy believes there is an upwards spiral of speakers nowadays.

"I believe this is due to the resurgence of the language in kohanga reo, schools, Maori radio, Maori TV, and so there is a desire to revive the language," he said.

Mr Kennedy also recommends that people who are wanting to learn te reo Maori attend one of the many wananga reo which are held around the country each year, where only Maori is spoken on the marae for an entire week of learning.

"Being immersed in te reo and the tikanga of the marae is a wonderful learning experience," he said.

"For the language to grow, we should be speaking it everywhere, at every chance we get."

This year, Mr Kennedy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (PhD-Philosophy), from the University of Ancient Traditions and Cultural Heritage, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, while attending their international conference in India.

Sitting in his Waiariki office, more than 20 years after beginning his own Maori language classes there, Mr Kennedy reflects on that award.

"Being awarded with an Honorary Doctorate is certainly an honour for me, however I suppose there are questions being asked around the country, why me?"

Mr Kennedy is a humble man, and as humble men do, he immediately chose to acknowledge those who helped him.

"I must acknowledge those who nurtured me in their time and have since passed on, and also all those who passed their knowledge on to me during those years, the current acting chief executive Keith Ikin whose idea it was for me to go overseas and the former chief executive Dr Pim Borren, who supported that trip, and the bestowing of the award."

It has been a long time since Mr Kennedy was a young boy waiting for the hangi to come up, or weaving tukutuku panels with his grandmother, and a lot has changed.

Te reo Maori, once a punishable offence, is now offered as part of the curriculum, and if Mr Kennedy has his way, may soon become compulsory.

"I want te reo Maori to grow and grow and grow," he said.

From a young boy cheekily sneaking plums while watching out for his elders, to being an elder himself, Mr Kennedy now has a legacy of sharing the fruits of his learning with the next generation with enthusiasm, passion and pride.