E hia kē mano tāngata i muia Te Whanganui a-Tara i te rangi nei, hei huataki ake i te wiki o te reo Māori. Inā te whakahirahira o te hunga i tae atu ki te whakamānawa i te kaupapa, tae atu rā hoki ki te whakahē i ngā kaupapa here e patu nei i te mana o te reo.
He rangi mokopuna i whitikia rā ki runga i te hunga, tamariki mai, whānau mai, kaumātua mai anō hoki, ko te reo Māori te take.
Koinei te rima ngahuru tau nō te whānautanga mai o te wiki nei, i te tau 1975.
Arā ngā tauira nō te kura o Rangikura ki Porirua e kīia nei: ‘to support te reo Māori’, ‘to celebrate their culture’, and to enjoy seeing people ‘coming together’.
E ai ki a Eugene Ryder, he mārakerake tonu te kite i te whāinga nui o te kaupapa.
“Whakanui te reo – koinei te tino kaupapa ahakoa te wiki o te reo. Ia tau, ia rā, ia marama – ko tērā te kaupapa.” he said.
Ka mutu, he mea whakaū i tā Te Wehi Wright i kite ai.
“Ko tētahi mea nui o tēnei kaupapa ki a au nei, ko te tangata whenua me te tangata tiriti e hīkoi noa ana ki te whakanui i te reo me te mōhio ahakoa te Kāwana ko te ora o te reo kei a tātou.” Wright said.
Ko te reo hei papa i te ao tōrangapū
While the march was filled with celebration, politics was not far from attendees’ minds and signs.
Some participants pointed to government decisions – such as restricting the use of te reo Māori in official documents and removing reo Māori from schools – as attempts to undermine revitalisation efforts.
Teacher Hayley Galo, from her school, Te Kura Māori o Porirua, said that despite the reo continuing to thrive, it will continue to do so whether the government supports it or not.
“Ahakoa te aha, e ai ki ngā kupu o te Kuini, me mana motuhake tātou te reo Māori i ngā wā katoa i roto i ngā wheako, i roto i ngā kura. i roto i ngā hapori, kia kaua tātou e tatari mō tētahi atu ki te whakarauora i tō tātou reo, arā ko te kāwanatanga.” She said.
From a tangata tiriti perspective, Trentham School teacher Ms Burns said visibility matters for tamariki.
“There’s been a lot of media at the moment that’s not helpful for our tamariki, and we’ve been in a space like this where they get to see tangata katoa, celebrating and doing the same things that they’re doing back at school, it’s a really positive experience.” She said.
As a teacher, she was clear on the far-reaching benefits of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga for her students.
“I know working in a classroom, when we learn in te ao Māori, you should see how it’s the difference for our children and our learning space, everything grows, not only te reo Māori, not only to tikanga, but all subjects.”
He mea ūkui i ngā kupu reo Māori i ngā pukapuka whakaako tamariki
Ahakoa te kī a te kāwanatanga, he mana tō te reo Māori, heoi, kāore ētahi o ngā kaiako i te whakapono i tā te kāwanatanga i kī ai.
Nō ngā marama tata kua mahue ki muri, i tohua e te minita o te tāhuhu o te mātauranga, e Erica Stanford, kia whakakorea ētahi kupu reo Māori ki te pukapuka At the Marae, hei tāna, ka noho rangirua pea ngā tamariki i te kitenga ō rātou i ngā reo e rua ki te pukapuka kotahi.
Hei tā Charlotte Cottrell o Te Kura Takawaenga o Wainuiōmata, ko tērā pōhēhē tērā.
“We don’t agree with the banning of the book over five simple kupu that all our tamariki know and all our tamariki can use. Our Principal shared the book with us, and he shared it with many of our students here today.”
Hei tāna anō, me mana te reo Māori ki ngā kokonga katoa o tēnei whenua.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr said the hīkoi showed the depth of love communities continue to hold for the language.
Tuku i te wāhi ki te iwi nei ki te whakaatu i te aroha ki te reo Māori.
“Me te mea anō hoki ki te whanake i tētahi hapori, whānau reo Māori, kāore pea e whanake haere tō tātou reo ki te kore he hapori kei muri i a ia.
“Nā reira te karanga, Te Taura Whiri kia haramai, te iwi kōrero Māori, te iwi aroha ana ki te reo Māori.”
No mention of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori by Prime Minister
During previous years and with other governments, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has been centre-stage in the Beehive Theaterette.
Many will remember the Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori hei tiki logo neon sign gleaming behind Jacinda Ardern during Māori Language Weeks.
Post-Cabinet Press Conferences happen on most Monday afternoons, after, as the name states, Cabinet Ministers meet.
The Prime Minister will open with a few remarks or topics top of mind for his government, then carry on to questions.
Today, Luxon was quick to mention the All Black’s loss, then went straight into a tourism and events announcement from the weekend and into questions.
Te Ao News asked Christopher Luxon why he didn’t make it to the march. He replied, “Because we have something called a Cabinet today,” despite a cabinet Minister, Tama Potaka, attending and speaking at the march.
Potaka left during the march to go and attend Cabinet.
Asked how he would be marking the week, he didn’t have much planned, but encouraged people to use what words they had.
“I’m trying to use as much as I possibly can. As you know, it’s been a bit of a struggle. I’ve had formal lessons later on in life; I have been able to keep those up with this job, but I have good advisors around me who try and encourage me to use words. I encourage kiwis to do the same.” He said.
When speaking to policies from his government that have contributed to the protection, promotion, and revitalisation of te reo Māori, he pointed to two items.
“I’m really proud of the fact that we’ve prepared teaching resources, our structured literacy structure and numeracy curriculums in te reo resources being made freely available.
“I’m proud of the record investment into Te Matatini, which has been a fantastic event, and we encourage New Zealanders to embrace te reo, it’s one of our official languages. It’s a great treasure and give it a go this week.” Luxon said.
