Marches are out for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori this year due to Covid-19 concerns, but people can still participate digitally. Photo / File
Marches are out for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori this year due to Covid-19 concerns, but people can still participate digitally. Photo / File
Nearly 50 years ago people were protesting on the steps of Parliament to save te reo Māori.
This year, advocates are hoping to see one million Kiwis speaking it all at once, with the aid of digital devices and social media, even TikTok.
With the traditional marches for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori/Māori Language Week on September 14 cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns, Te Taura Whiri/Māori Language Commission is calling on everybody to join the Māori Language Moment, and share a kōrero online at 12pm.
The date will mark 48 years since a small group of language champions presented a petition to Parliament from 30,000 New Zealanders asking the government to teach Māori language in schools.
It sparked a turnaround for generations of Māori who were beaten in schools for speaking their language, and was the catalyst for that date becoming Māori Language Day – extended to Māori Language Week in 1975, an increase in Māori tuition across the country, and Māori becoming an official language in 1987.
Nikkira Booth is on a journey to become fluent in te reo Māori not only to do her ancestors proud, some of whom were denied the opportunity by the state, but for herself and her son Taylor (4) to have a greater understanding of their whakapapa.
Nikkira Booth, 27, and her son Taylor, 4, are both on their own te reo Māori journeys. Photo / Supplied
"My biggest thing is to make my whānau, and my ancestors, proud," said Booth, of Ngāti Toa me Ngāti Tūwharetoa.
"But also being able to go back to my marae, and learn and understand the stories of who I am, and where I have come from. I think it is important in terms of my identity as Māori, as a Kiwi, plus it is a beautiful language."
For her Māori Language Moment, Booth said she was aiming to share to share kōrero via TikTok.
Professor Rawinia Higgins, chair of Te Taura Whiri, said Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori was a chance to reflect on the revitalisation movement that continues to this day.
"We remember those who championed te reo when it was socially and politically unacceptable to do so," Higgins said.
"From marches calling for it to be made an official language, a petition arguing for it to be taught in schools, to a Waitangi Tribunal claim.
"Children can now attend kōhanga and schools where te reo is the language of instruction.
"Whare Wananga, iwi radio and Māori Television are growing adult speakers of te reo.
"Normalising our language comes in many shapes and forms from hearing it on the radio, reading it in our newspapers and even just saying, "Kia ora" when we answer the phone."
Nikkira Booth says reo Māori skills are increasingly sought after in businesses and organisations across the country. Photo / Supplied
Last year a Colmar Brunton poll her organisation commissioned found eight in 10 of Kiwis saw te reo as part of New Zealand's national identity.
While the heritage was normally recognised in marches across the country, this year Higgins said due to Covid-19 the commission was backing a cautious approach.
"We are just recognising these are unprecedented times and are not sure how everybody would feel coming together as big groups, particularly as the marches generally include many elderly and tamariki.
"But we also thought it was a good opportunity to build on how people have been connecting more online."
"We don't have the metrics yet, but in my heart I believe that goal might not be as unrealistic as many have thought. As society people are increasingly seeing te reo Māori as a core part of our collective identity, and momentum is building with language courses across the country oversubscribed."
Higgins said the "Māori Language Moment" could be as easy as café owners playing a Māori, office workers pausing to do a quiz in te reo, school students starting lunch with a karakia or a haka and media outlets beginning their 12pm news bulletin with te reo.
"You could Zoom in te reo, gather for a karakia or waiata, or even do a TikTok video," Higgins said.
He reta noa ki ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa/An open letter to all New Zealanders
In te reo Māori:
He nui ngā āhuatanga e kīia ai tātou he uri Aotearoa tātou, ā, e tūhonohono ana i a tātou ki tō tātou kāinga: nā, ko te reo Māori tētahi o aua āhuatanga.
Nā te pūkeke o te hunga aumangea, e kawea tonutia ana te kaupapa whakarauora i te reo i tēnei rā.
Ko ngā rangatū ērā i te tohe kia whakamanahia hei reo ōkawa, ko te petihana i te whakahau kia whakaakona ki ngā kura, tae atu ki te kereeme ki te Taraipiunara o Waitangi.
E āhei ana ngā tamariki ki te haere ki ngā kōhanga reo me ngā kura, ko te reo Māori te reo whakaako.
Kei te whakarea ngā Whare Wānanga, ngā reo irirangi ā-iwi, me Whakaata Māori i ngā kaikōrero pakeke o te reo.
He nui ngā āhua o te tangatawhenuatanga o tō tātou reo, e rangona ana i te reo irirangi, e pānuitia ana i te niupepa, e kī noa ana, "Kia ora" hei whakautu waea.
Nō tērā tau i puta te whakatau a te rangahau a Kōmā Paratene i tonoa e mātou, ko te 8 o te 10 o tātou e hiahia ana kia kitea te reo hei tohu i tō tātou tuakiritanga ā-motu.
Koinei te take e arotahi ana mātou kia tipu te tokomaha o ngā kaikōrero i te reo Māori ki te 1 miriona i te taenga ki te tau 2040, ā, e hiahia ana mātou ki te tīmata i te tau 2020: ahakoa mō te wā poto noa iho.
I tēnei Wiki o te Reo Māori, e tono ana mātou kia piri mai ngā tāngata o Aotearoa kia whai wāhi ki tētahi Wā Tuku Reo Māori kāore anō kia kitea: E hiahia ana mātou kia 1 miriona tātou e kōrero ana, e waiata ana, e whakanui ana i te reo Māori i te wā kotahi.
Ahakoa kua whakakorengia e mātou ngā rangatū mō te reo Māori mō tēnei tau, e kore te Mate Korona e haukoti i tā tātou whakahui tahi i ngā tāngata.
Kei te tangata tonu te tikanga me pēhea.
Ka whakatangi noatia pea e ngā kaipupuri wharekawhe tētahi waiata reo Māori, ka tahuri rānei ngā kaimahi tari ki te whakaoti i te kairoro o te rā ki te reo, ka tīmata rānei ngā ākonga kura i te kai o te rānui ki te karakia, ki te haka rānei, ka tīmata rānei ngā kaipāpāho i ā rātou pānuitanga i ngā pūrongo o te wā i te poupoutanga o te rā ki te reo.
Tērā e tuihono ai koe i te reo, e huitahi ai rānei ki te karakia, ki te waiata rānei. He pōhiri tēnei kia whakanuia te reo mō tētahi wā poto, mō tētahi wiki, mō tētahi marama, mō te roanga rānei o te tau. Kei a koe te tikanga me pēhea: heoi, waitohua mai, tukuna mai āu mahere, āu whakaahua, āu kiriata hoki: he poraka 'huri' Kia Kaha te reo Māori ruarua nei ō mātou hei tuku!
Ka maumahara tātou ki te hunga nāna te reo i whakatairanga i te wā kāore taua mahi i paingia e te hapori, e te ao tōrangapū anō hoki.
Nō te tau 1972 i tāpaetia ai e tētahi ranga toa iti nei o te reo Māori tētahi petihana i waitohua e ngā tāngata o Aotearoa 30,000, i ngā kaupae o te paremata e whakahau ana kia whakaakona te reo Māori ki ō tātou kura.
Ka tekau tau i muri mai, ka rangatū anō ngā toa o te reo Māori ki te paremata ki te whakahau kia whakamanahia te reo hei reo ōkawa i tōna ake whenua.
Ka whakaaturia i tētahi whakaahua whakaawe e mā ana, e pango ana hoki ō rātou kanohi: he amaru, he pono, he pūkeke.
Ka mātai amaru anō te hunga mātakitaki i a rātou e hīkoi atu ana.
He whakatipuranga kē te roa mai i taua wā ki ā tātou rangatū mō te Wiki o te Reo Māori i kitea ai i tērā tau te manomano tāngata i petapeta rā te hīkoi i ō tātou huarahi matua.
I aratakina rā e ngā tamariki o ngā iwi e maha, i tūtakina ai hoki e tō tātou Kāwana Tianara, ko ia nei hoki te Kanohi o te Wiki o te Reo Māori, e Kahurangi Patsy Reddy.
Whai muri mai i te kereeme Reo Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka whakamanahia te reo i raro i te ture hei reo ōkawa o Aotearoa. Nā whai anō i tū ai tō mātou rangapū, a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
He roa te takahitanga mai i tēnei huarahi, kāore anō kia mutu, nā reira e tono atu ana mātou ki ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa kia piri mai ki a mātou.
E hiahia ana mātou kia tipu te tokomaha o ngā kaikōrero i te reo Māori ki te 1 miriona i te taenga ki te tau 2040, ā, e hiahia ana mātou ki te tīmata i te tau 2020: ahakoa mō te wā poto noa iho.
Me piri mai ki a mātou ā te 12 karaka o Mane, te 14 o Hepetema, i te tau 2020: Whāia kia kīia ai ko koe tētahi o te miriona. Whakamihia a mua, whakanuia te reo o Aotearoa, whītiki, kōkiritia!
From marches calling for it to be made an official language, a petition arguing for it to be taught in schools, to a Waitangi Tribunal claim.
Children can now attend kōhanga and schools where te reo is the language of instruction.
Whare Wananga, iwi radio and Māori Television are growing adult speakers of te reo.
Normalising our language comes in many shapes and forms from hearing it on the radio, reading it in our newspapers and even just saying, "Kia ora" when we answer the phone.
Last year a Colmar Brunton poll we commissioned told us that 8 in 10 of us see te reo as part of our national identity.
Te reo Māori is the language of New Zealand. But it still needs New Zealanders to keep it safe.
That's why we are focused on growing 1 million speakers by 2040 and we want to start in 2020: even if just for a moment.
This Māori Language Week we are inviting New Zealanders to join us in an unprecedented Māori Language Moment: We want 1 million of us speaking, singing and celebrating te reo at the same time.
We may have cancelled our Māori language parades this year but the Coronavirus or Mate Korona won't stop us bringing people together.
What people do could be as easy as café owners playing a Māori language song, office workers pausing to do the quiz in te reo, school students starting lunch with a karakia or a haka and media outlets beginning their 12pm news bulletin with te reo.
You could zoom in te reo or perhaps you could gather for a karakia or waiata.
It's an open invitation to celebrate te reo for a moment, a week, a month or even the whole year round.
How you do it is up to you: but sign up and send your ideas, plans, photos and videos in: we have some limited edition Kia Kaha te reo Māori hoodies if you do!
We remember those who championed te reo when it was socially and politically unacceptable to do so. In 1972 a small group of language champions presented a petition to Parliament from 30,000 New Zealanders asking the government to teach Māori language in schools.
Ten years later Māori language champions marched to Parliament again, calling for te reo to be made an official language in its own land.
A powerful black and white photo shows their faces: solemn, serious and determined. Bystanders stare solemnly as they walk past.
It's a generation away from our Māori Language Week parades which last year saw thousands stream down our main streets.
Led by children from all ethnic backgrounds and met by our Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy, who was also our Māori Language Week Ambassador.
