Looking back on 50 years since the first Māori Language Week, Te Kuru Dewes shares his hopes for the next half-century.

This is the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

In 1971 it was suggested at Te Huinga Rangatahi o Aotearoa, the national Māori Young Peoples Organisation, that a Māori Language Day should be observed. Within a year it had grown into Māori Language Week.

At the time, research revealed that Te Reo was in a perilous state. There was a growing political awareness for the potential of influencing government policy to cause positive change. At Victoria University in Wellington was Te Reo Māori Society, and in Tāmaki Makaurau at Auckland University was Ngā Tamatoa.

The late Hana Te Hemara, with the support of Ngā Tamatoa, Te Reo Māori Society and Te Huinga Rangatahi, delivered the “Māori Language Week petition” in 1972.

In the famous photo, Ngāti Toa kaumātua Te Ouenuku Rene leads the march on parliament. Behind him is Hana Te Hemara, Paul Kotara and Rawiri Paratene from Ngā Tamatoa, while on the other side my grandfather can be seen carrying two large briefcases containing the 33,000 hand-signed signatures. Behind him, afro blowing in the wind, is my father, Whaimutu.

In the archival footage from that day, my father, alongside Tom Roa of Waikato-Maniapoto and others, can be seen doing the haka “Ka Mate” on the steps of parliament, with the blessing of Ngāti Toa whom the haka belongs to.

Speaking at the 50th commemoration at parliament on Wednesday, Roa reignited the crowd with a rendition of “Ka Mate”, again with the blessing of Ngāti Toa. He pointed out that in 1972 they, as protestors, were regarded as radicals. Now, they’re “national treasures”. 

Growing up, my siblings and I were told about the event, so we’ve always been familiar with it and various stories about how it came about, the effort that went into it and the reasons behind it. The petition wasn’t about formalising Māori Language Week, it was about enabling te reo Māori to be offered as a subject at primary and intermediate schools, as a “gift to all New Zealanders”.

In 1978, Te Reo Māori Society and Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i Te Reo delivered another petition that demonstrated airwaves as a taonga under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, in order to secure the ability to broadcast Te Reo on radio. Despite the gains since then, iwi radios remain ridiculously underfunded, so that fight continues. 

In 1979 the Government denied a 30,000 strong petition by Te Reo Māori Society for a Māori television service. It wasn’t until 2004 that Māori Television, now Whakaata Māori, was opened.

Nationally, Te Reo still isn’t available at all schools, which was the goal when the petition was delivered 50 years ago. Māori students in kaupapa Māori education, on the other hand, are achieving better outcomes in NCEA than students in mainstream schools. We know that it’s working. 

The wins for Te Reo have been hard-fought between Māori and the Crown, as opposed to supported openly. 

The language has been given new life through the establishment of Māori institutions in education, government and media including kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori, iwi radio stations, Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo, the various wānanga Māori such as Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Te Wānanga o Raukawa and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, as well as Whakaata Māori and more recently established, Te Mātāwai.

However, the fight continues, currently between Māori education collected Te Matakāhuki and The Crown, where Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, Te Kōhanga Reo, Ngā Kura a Iwi o Aotearoa and Te Tauihu o Ngā Wānanga, are concerned about a new Māori education pathway being designed by the Ministry of Education. 

There is a scary similarity, five decades later, that we have the denial of the value to be created by having greater Māori community control of Māori community mechanisms, in this case, education. 

Earlier this week I attended the 50th commemoration of Te Wiki o Te Reo and the Te Reo Māori Society at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki. The theme of the conference was the challenge put forward by the late Te Ouenuku Rene, who encouraged the students to think critically about their contribution to the language over their lifetime. 

Half a century later, the surviving members reflected on what they’ve achieved and proudly demonstrated their Te Reo speaking children and grandchildren. Many of them have committed their lives to Māori language and education and continue to lead from the front. They continue to inspire us, who have reaped the rewards of growing up immersed in our culture. 

When I checked in at my AirBnB, I was greeted by a lovely Pākehā host who spoke with me in Te Reo. She has been studying Te Reo for six years, expressing how beautiful she thinks the language is and acknowledging that she needs to study in full-time immersion to progress further. 

Small interactions like that give me hope for the attitudes held by non-Māori, for such a simple thing as being greeted in my own language makes me feel at home in Aotearoa.

My father had asked me what my generation wants to see in the next 50 years. My response is for Māori in Aotearoa to be able to speak Te Reo freely, fluently, without self-doubt or social anxiety, anywhere, any time, without public backlash. 

I want Māori to have the opportunity to learn Te Reo no matter where they are in life. 

I want second-language learners to be in safe learning environments and for non-Māori learners to have the awareness to not correct the mistakes of Māori learners. 

I want to hear it being spoken as much as English. I want Māori to use it as their main language in the home and beyond. 

I want kaupapa Māori education to be given the respect it deserves and not be cornered by The Crown at every bend. 

I want the language to continue to flourish as a foundation of Māori culture and identity, alongside the Māori protocols and social values that make this country unique. 

Most of all, I want Māori to be able to be their native selves and stand grounded in knowing their language, who they are, and where they come from. 

Follow our te ao Māori podcast Nē? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.