'I Will Not Speak Māori': Tame Iti's provocative new artwork creates a splash

Thursday, 25 August 2022

For 50 years Tūhoe kaumātua Tame Iti has hit our headlines, representing Māori rights in his own unique style.

“I Will Not Speak Māori” is a line Tame Iti was forced to write out hundreds of times by his school teachers.

Now, the sometimes controversial Tūhoe kaumātua is creating a splash by painting the phrase across the Wellington waterfront.

The words are in bold letters on scrim attached to a fence in Odlin’s Plaza, part of an art installation called I Will Not Speak Māori to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week.

Iti said the installation was intended to be provocative and he loved the response it was getting from passers-by as he painted it – even if it confused some people at first.

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“People responded quite ferociously, and I really like that. I had to explain to them that we (Māori) were subject to that. We had to write that, so you need to see this.

“I Will Not Speak Māori” is written in bold letters on scrim attached to a fence in Odlin’s Plaza.

“It's doing what it is supposed to do – create a conversation.”

The installation marks 50 years since the Māori language petition was delivered by Iti and Māori activist group Ngā Tamatoa from Tāmaki Makaurau to Parliament in Te Whanganui-a-Tara in 1972, calling for recognition of te reo Māori.

It kick-started Māori Language Day that same year, which evolved into Māori Language Week in 1975.

Parts of the installation have been taken down temporarily due to the high winds on the waterfront, but it will be reinstalled before September 1 in time for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

Before being taken down, a member of the public cut out the word ‘Not’ from the painting, so it read: ‘I Will Speak Māori’ – a statement Iti appreciated.

“I want to meet that person, I want to shake their hand, because that’s all part of the art … that’s what art is about, and I love that.”

Tiana Rakete, event development manager at WellingtonNZ – the agency that helped fund the installation – said it was fitting Iti chose Wellington to showcase these works.

“Wellington is integral to the story of the revitalisation of te reo Māori, as the place Tame brought the petition to, 50 years ago.

“There is nowhere else where this conversation could take place appropriately.”

The installation, which also includes corten steel sculptures, audio and visual presentations, and live performances from Tame himself, will officially open to the public from September 1.