Aotearoa, walk with me
Monday, 13 September 2021
OPINION: I am a proud Kiwi of mixed ethnicities. Born in Aotearoa in a small coastal society on the lower west coast of the North Island, I was part of a community leading change and the renaissance of Māori culture and language within our region.
The iwi, (Te) Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, (Ngāti) Raukawa ki te Tonga and (Ngāti) Toarangatira – the ART Confederation – banded together to implement a long-term, strategic plan to halt the decline of our language and revive Māori cultural practices.
One of the initiatives was Whakatupuranga Rua Mano – Generation 2000, a 25-year Māori language and cultural plan. It was believed it would take at least one generation of our people committed enough to developing, actively using and passing on our Māori language and cultural practices to ensure the continued survival of traditional ways. A strong focus was on people younger than 35 and I was fortunate to be part of this special and important initiative. I owe my cultural knowledge and proficiency in te reo Māori to those who made this moemoeā (dream) a reality.
**READ MORE:
* School Report: Kura kaupapa drive top te reo Māori marks up
* Te reo Māori: The legacy of silence and loss
* The priceless value of te reo Māori
* She's Pākehā, but raising her children with te reo Māori
**
I was coaxed by a high school Māori teacher to pursue a degree in teaching and, after leaving school, I furthered my education at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. I studied mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge), te reo Māori, and trained to be a teacher – determined to teach our young people whose families were choosing kura kaupapa Māori to educate their tamariki.
My first job was at our local kura, Te Kura ā-Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano, an extension of the Generation 2000 initiative. From here, I dedicated my life to passing on this knowledge to our young people and adults committed to this cause, and way of life.
In 2020, my partner and I were blessed with our first child. My dedication, love and work for our Māori language and culture suddenly had even more significance. I understood the importance of intergenerational language transmission, how challenging this was and how easily it could be lost.
It takes only one generation to lose a language, and three to restore it.
I wasn’t fortunate enough to be raised at home with te reo Māori, as neither of my parents were taught or permitted to formally learn our language.
My generation is the first in my family to reconnect and embrace te reo; my son will hopefully be the second, and his children the third. If all goes to plan, this will see our language and culture restored and normalised within our whānau. This is how precarious this endeavour is.
Earlier this year, I met a young high school teacher who was quite proficient in te reo Māori and passionate about the language, educating others (including work colleagues) and the language’s normalisation. I was surprised to learn he was not Māori – he was the perfect example of what I dream for all New Zealanders. Proficient, bilingual speakers who are proud to embody our dual heritage while also highly responsive to our multicultural society, as confident in the boardroom as they are on the paepae (orator’s bench on a marae), be they Māori or not.
If Māori alone champion this cause, I believe our language and customs will not survive. It needs to be genuinely adopted, supported and used by all New Zealanders for it to thrive and truly become an established form of everyday communication in Aotearoa.
Te reo, te ao Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi – revitalisation, normalisation, cultural responsiveness, to embody and authentically embed the principles of Te Tiriti – terms, values and strategies we regularly hear about to “validate” what we are doing as individuals and NZ organisations within this space.
What does this actually look and feel like? What are our ultimate hopes and goals as Kiwi organisations and as a nation? Are we doing this for authentic reasons, or because it is currently required of us to be seen as inclusive and culturally responsive? Are we genuinely seeing the importance and merit of embodying our bicultural heritage and multicultural history? In many cases, the present answer is no. Positive change is happening, however.
It has always baffled me that some New Zealanders, Māori and Pākehā alike, do not see the value of our language and culture as a part of our national identity. My knowledge and ability with our Māori language and cultural practices have allowed me to see the world. It has secured many wonderful positions in schools and NZ companies alike.
Our cultural representation defines us on the global stage. This is what the wider world is intrigued to see. In future, I hope we are collectively proud of our Kiwi identity and heritage, for it is ultimately a part of each and every one of us as New Zealanders.
“Ngaruru ana te tupu o tōku reo i a koe, ngaruru ana anō tō reo i a au.”
“My language flourishes because of you. Your language, in turn, flourishes because of me.”
Te Rau Winterburn is the head of Kaupapa Māori at Education Perfect and is a second-language speaker of te reo Māori.