First it was fighting for land, now it's fighting for language
Friday, 16 April 2021
It’s a fact it takes one generation to lose a language and at least three to get it back, Kiley Nēpia, pouahurea (cultural advisor), of Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō said.
One of the ways Te Tauihu-o-te-waka-a-Māui iwi are making sure that doesn’t happen again is by organising a Māori language symposium called, Te Kaiaotanga o te Reo, the first ever to be held at the top of the South Island.
“Language, culture, identity, they’re all linked together, and we want our children to have a better tomorrow than we had,” Nēpia said.
The symposium, organised by Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō and Rangitāne o Wairau, would have some of the greatest known te reo Māori exponents from across Aotearoa.
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Nēpia, said the event was an opportunity for the community and te reo Māori champions to learn from each other, and understand what was needed to continue revitalising the Māori language..
“It’s not a language class, so it’s not the learning of te reo Māori, it’s more a way to learn strategies around how you can revitalise the language,” Nēpia said.
“So we’re thrilled to be hosting this event, one of the key messages that we want to get out there is that it’s not just for Māori people, or for Māori speaking people, it’s for anybody who has an interest in language and cultural revitalisation.”
Nēpia said people would walk away with strategies to develop te reo Māori in their own community. He encouraged anyone in the community – from teachers to people in council – to attend.
The symposium would be in te reo Māori, but a translator would be present for those that needed it.
“When you buy your ticket you tick that you want headphones, then we have a translator speaking to you,” Nēpia said. “Again, that’s around us valuing our language.”
“You’re going to learn about how loss of language has occurred. Why it’s important to acknowledge that and how you can rectify that within your own community and how you start to build strategies.”
He said iwi trusts were investing time and energy into revitalisation because they know, te reo Māori me ōna tikanga, was a taonga.
“We absolutely know that it is a taonga, it’s a treasure, and we need to make the conscious effort to halt its decline … ” he said.
“We grew up when our parents and our grandparents were fighting the land claim for us, and those people knew that they weren’t necessarily going to be here to be part of that, so it’s nice to be able to, in a small way, carry on that legacy and ensure that we are doing all we can for our children.”
Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, who named Te Kaiaotanga o Te Reo, was one of several key speakers. Sir Tīmoti is one of Māoridom’s most respected language revivalist.
He was the first Māori language commissioner, between 1987 and 1999, and then executive director of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust from 1993 to 2003.
In 2003, he helped create Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, the Institute of Excellence in Māori Language, and served as its executive director.
Other speakers included
Radio and TV broadcasters and Māori language champions Stacey and Scotty Morrison.
Māori Television children's show presenters of Te Nūtube, Te Hākura, and, Atareta.
Human rights lawyer and advocate Annette Sykes,
Author and te reo Māori lecturer Hēmi Kelly.
Founders of Te Wharekura o Ngāti Rongomai, Tūkiterangi and Rēnata Curtis.
Te Kaiaotanga o te Reo is to be held in Te Waiharakeke (Blenheim) on May 19 and 20.
Tickets are available now at www.tekaiaotangaotereo.co.nz.