A Waitangi Tribunal urgent inquiry has begun today looking into claims that the government’s push to prioritise English names and language in the public sector is causing harm to te reo Māori. The claim follows an application filed by Ngāi Te Rangi last year in response to the government telling government departments to revert to their English names.
Former Te Taura Whiri, Māori Language comissioner Haami Piripi, who at the inquiry says why the urgent inquiry is being faced by the Crown is due to the actions of the government.
“He mea whakahāwea, he mea takahia ngā mahi nei a te kāwanatanga ki tō tātou reo, engari ki ō tātou tūpuna.”
(It’s degrading. What the government is doing is trampling all over our language but also our ancestors.)
The purpose of this urgent inquiry is for iwi to lay out their grievences for the government’s reversal of Māori names in government departments. It’s something that is felt by all across the country.
Piripi says the cries won’t stop.
“Kua rongo atu au ki te tangi a te manu. Ko te manu nei ko te taonga o ō tātou tūpuna. Kua rongo atu au ki te tangi i puta i te kōrero a tēnā a tēnā, kia tangihia tātou katoa, kia korihi tonu te tangi kia puta katoa mātou ki te māramatanga hei oranga anō mō tātou.”
(I’ve heard the cries of the bird, the bird being the treasure of our ancestors. I’ve heard the cries that have come from the evidence presented so far. We all cry and will continue to cry until we all come out of this better for all of us.)
“Our language will survive because of us’
The issue was first presented by Ngāi Te Rangi at the end of last year, and according to Ngāi Te Rangi elder Hauata Palmer, the government needs to pay attention to this gathering.
“Ko te hiahia, kia whakarongo mai te kāwanatanga. Ko te mea hoki, i te whakatūtanga o te tokotoru nei, ko rātou ngā mea e hiahia ana ki te takahi i te tiriti, te takahi i ngā tikanga, te takahi i te reo. Ana ko ia tērā ko tō rātou hiahia ki te takahi i te mana o tō tātou reo rangatira.”
(The wish is the government would listen. The other thing, when these three came into power, they are the ones who wanted to trample over the Treaty, trample over tikanga, and trample over the language. That’s it, that was their want, to trample over the power of our chiefly language.)
However, Piripi continues to encourage Māori to not leave the fate of the language up t the government.
“Ko te kāwanatanga e meatia ana koretake rawa tō reo, waiho mā te reo Pākehā koe e whakamārama. Kua hē rawa tēnā whakaaro, he whakaaro tamariki. Nāreira e aroha ana au ki a tātou engari, ehara i te mea mā te kāwanatanga e ora ai tō tātou reo. Mā tātou tō tātou nei reo e whakaora.”
(The government has mentioned there is no use in our language, rather leave it for English. That opinion is horrid, it’s one of a child. So I have a lot of love for our people but it’s not as if the government will keep our language alive. Our language will survive because of us.)