Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Māori Language Week Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori was born out of concern by the Māori people for the state of their language. By the 1970s it had become quite clear that the survival of Māori language was threatened and yet schools were doing little to encourage its revival.

On 14 September 1972, a petition bearing more than 40,000 signatures was presented to Parliament by Hana Te Hemara on behalf of Ngā Tamatoa. The main aim of the petition was to see Māori language being offered in schools as an integral part of the syllabus.

The 14 September 1972 was declared Māori Language Day Te Ra o te Reo Māori . The following year it became Māori Language Week Te Wiki o te Reo Māori . Māori Language Week was designed to highlight the fact that Māori are the first people of this land, that Māori is the indigenous language of this country, and that Māori children have the right to learn the language of their ancestors".¹

Research published by Benton² in 1979, showed that the death of Māori language was imminent, despite it being taught in primary and secondary schools. Māori responded to this dire warning with a number of significant language initiatives: Te Ataarangi (the method of language teaching using cuisenaire rods as a tool for rapid oral development), Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori and Wananga.

1982 saw the establishment of the first Kohanga Reo which sought to provide pre-school education based on Māori values, conducted entirely in the Māori language. The rapid growth of Kohanga Reo created a need for the continuation of the philosophy and practice into primary and secondary education systems. Kaura Kaupapa Māori addressed this need. The first primary level Kura Kaupapa Māori opened in 1984. Kura Kauapapa Māori was first introduced at secondary level in 1993. As at 6 May 1998, there were a total of 59 Kura Kaupapa Māori throughout the country.

Today more children and young adults speak Māori fluently than 10 years ago. The research published by Benton³ in 1997 said the effort needed to consolidate the gains of the 1980s was still immense. He believed that government policies, especially in education and broadcasting have eroded the language, so government policies should be adopted to reverse the trend. If New Zealanders, Māori or non-Māori , are to take the rhetoric about the language being used seriously, not just to our Māori identity but our national identity, then continued co-operation between the Māori community and New Zealand's non-Māori population at both the personal and institutional level will be required. Positive attitudes towards the language, a will among its speakers to resist social pressure to capitulate to English, and the ability to obtain necessary resources and instutitional support on a sustained basis will be key factors in a more substantial revival of the language.

¹ Jackson, Syd, The first language, in He whakaatange o te ao = The reality selected and edited by Witi Ihimaera, Auckland: Reed Books, 1993, p215.

² Benton, Richard A, Who speaks Māori in New Zealand? Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 1979, p 2324.

³ Benton, Richard A, The Māori language: dying or reviving?: a working paper prepared for the East-West Center Alumni-in-Residence Working Papers series. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 1997.