We've come a long way as a nation, using te reo Māori more and everywhere

Sunday, 19 September 2021

Rangitāne o Wairau has asked for all Te Reo Māori place names in Marlborough to be spelled correctly. Video first published September 2021.

OPINION: As another Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week ends, I reflect on the thrill and excitement that has spread throughout our country.

It’s refreshing to hear our reo spoken on the streets, on television when the weather is presented and to see tāngata Tiriti (Treaty partners) just giving it a go.

Not only that, but I also noticed the harmony the week brought. The unity, and perhaps a taste of the true meaning of what it’s like to witness a relationship between treaty partners, a tiriti centric Aotearoa.

But for many of our whānau like myself, this week whilst encouraging, can also be a harsh reminder of the expectations upon Māori.

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Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

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Lillie Simmons teaches te reo Māori to Marianne Kerridge at the Te Hopai retirement home in Newtown, Wellington.

I’ve been fortunate to be raised by whānau who carry all the kaupapa on my marae. With that, my ability to karanga, waiata and poi atua has been transferred instinctively.

Our passion for kapahaka has been a predominant force in the akoako (training) of te reo. It can be done in a group, or dependent on your ability to hit notes, privately in your car.

But the ability to converse fluently still doesn’t come easy. It takes an environment that surrounds you with ongoing support and whānau to converse with.

I am thankful for our monthly marae and hapū te reo wānanga (learning forum), but also as ahikaa (keeping the home fires burning), and cherish being present on our marae during kaupapa (matters) like tangihanga.

Having worked within kaupapa Māori for 25 years, including Māori broadcasting and iwi, I have worked alongside the likes of Hone Harawira, Willie Jackson, Reo Irirangi, the iwi radio network with the late Dr Huirangi Waikerepuru, the late Esther Tinirau and Haimona Maruera.

All people with varying levels of te reo. Although we are all often met with the same expectations, everyone’s reo journey is different.

The expectation of being Māori and a te reo speaker often doesn’t go hand in hand for many whānau. With only around 185,000 te teo Māori speakers, being Māori without fluency is a reality second to none.

The intergenerational ‘reo-trauma’ (language shame) is a symptom experienced by the generations, whose Māori parents were beaten in schools for speaking the tongue of tangata whenua. I often hear from whānau, the stories where they are the only Māori in a room, with others expecting that because they are, then they can karakia.

Same goes for being Māori without currently being fluent. What comes from this is the trauma of whakamā. Being singled out in that room and made to feel embarrassed.

We often apologise, get red in the face, and feel uncomfortable because whilst you are proud of your Māoritanga, such expectations hurt the very mana of it.

L-R: Te Paati Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have started a petition to change the official name of New Zealand to Aotearoa and restore all te reo Māori names for towns, cities, and place names.

But let’s remember the whakapapa of that feeling of whakamā, and that it originated from the very hand of colonialists, whose descendants set the expectations today.

There is no denying we have collectively come a long way.

The uptake of te reo Māori classes across our Te Wānanga providers (Māori universities) is huge, often with waiting lists months long. The adoption of te reo practices in businesses is noticed, so too is hearing it frequently when you’re placed on hold with a call centre.

A spoken language is simply a living language, so I mihi to all the champions out there contributing to its survival.

For me, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is all about raising awareness about the vulnerability of our language. Built on the foundations of the 1972 Māori language petition presented by Ngā Tamatoa’s Hana Te Hemara; 30-thousand signatures calling for active recognition of te reo Māori.

49-years later, Te Paati Māori launched a petition to restore ‘Aotearoa’ as the name of our nation, as well as place names to their original Māori ingoa (name). 60-thousand signatures in six days is a clear indication we are ready to realign our compass.

A realignment that sets a clear obligation to this country’s intention to recognise te reo Māori as the first official language in Aotearoa.

To have our names restored is a step further to living a naturally bilingual life, where the fusion of our reo into everyday living is naturally acquired. As a learner of te reo Maori, the more we normalise our language, the more we remove the trauma associated with it.

However, there is an obligation by our reo speakers to manaaki those learning. To tautoko, be supportive, and most importantly not use our reo to whakaiti (humiliate) others.

I’ve experienced it in the house as a Māori politician, to use our reo to whakaiti others only perpetuates the whakapapa of whakamā, at the hand of the coloniser. We must be better than that, kia kaha te reo Māori.

So whatever journey you are on, I acknowledge and encourage you as a learner myself. We are the kaitiaki of our language, and we can only do it as one, in unity.

In closing, I want to use a quote from my fellow co-leader Rawiri Waititi. “You may not know your language, but your language knows you. You are enough because your tipuna made it so.”

Deb Ngarewa-Packer is an MP and co-leader of Te Paati Māori, the Māori Party.