Day two of Toitū Te Reo kicked off with thousands coming together in rainy Hawke’s Bay.
Key focuses were ensuring the survival of the Māori language as the government rolls back Māori usage, and how the language can be fostered with the help of tangata Tiriti.
As the saying goes, Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori, The Māori language is the life force of Māori, and furthermore the life force of Aotearoa.
That view comes from a tangata Tiriti who is fluent in Māori. Dr Alex Barnes is one of many who are giving their all to safeguard the indigenous language of Aotearoa.
“Ko tēnei te wā me tū, me oho. Heoi anō, ko tāku e kī ana kia mōhio te Pākehā, a Tauiwi, i tōna ake reina. Ana he wāhi tō te Māori ki te whakarauora i te reo, he wāhi tō te pākehā, tō te tauiwi ki te whakarauora i te reo.”
These are the times we need to stand, we need to be aware. However, what I say to Pākehā and others is: Know your lane. There is a place for Māori to revitalise the language and there is also a space for Pākehā and other ethnicities to revitalise the language.
Dr Barnes is a researcher and educator and has dedicated his life to understanding what te reo Māori means to Aotearoa.
Waikato-Tainui leader Rahui Papa supports tangata Tiriti and their use of the language. He is says the language is welcoming to all.
“Kāore te reo Māori i te titiro ki te kiri o te tangata, kāore rānei te reo Māori e titiro ana ki te pakeke o te tangata. Kāore i te titiro mehemea he tāne, he wahine, he irakati, he irarua rānei. Kāore nei te reo e titiro ki ērā kaupapa.”
The Māori language cannot see the skin of a person, nor can it see the age of a person. It doesn’t look at whether you are a man, women, binary or non-binary. It doesn’t look for those things.
Over the years Māori classes have been flocked to by Pākehā who are dedicated and hold a love for the Māori language.
Māori educator Leon Blake says there is a well-known message in songs still sung that will not come to fruition if non-Māori don’t learn the language.
“Mēnā e hiahia ana tātou ka eke ki tā Ngoi i kī ai ‘whiua ki te ao, whiua ki ngā iwi katoa’ a kāti me tuku e tātou ki ō tātou hoa pākehā mai, tauiwi mai. Mā reira, ki a au nei, mā reira e tino ora ai tō tātou reo.”
If we are wanting to reach what Ngoi Pēwhairangi said, ‘give it to the world, present it for all people’, then we should give it to our Pākehā and other non-Māori friends. From there I believe our language will truly survive and thrive.
During the 1900s the Māori language was nearly lost. Ngāti Kahungunu was one of those iwi who were among the first to see its near extinction.
Barnes says tangata Tiriti need to be knowledgeable of the struggles Māori have faced, to understand the yearning they have to keep the language alive forever.
“Ko ēnei whenua nei kua raupatutia e te kāwana, kei te raupatutia tonutia e te kāwana. Nāreira kia mōhio ai te pākehā, a tauiwi ki te horopaki. Ka rua, me noho whakaiti, me noho whakaiti te tangata me pēnei pea te kōrero he tāutuutu nē ka ako i te reo ā he aha tō koha ki te reo? He aha tō koha ki te reo? Ehara i te mea e kī nei me matatau rawa ki te reo Māori, ki te ao Māori, ki ngā āhuatanga katoa, engari ko te reo o te Pākehā hei tohe i te kāwana, i ngā mahi tūkino inaiātonunei. ko tērā tētahi mahi nui a te pākehā, ā tauiwi.”
These lands were confiscated by the Crown, are still being confiscated by the Crown. So Pākehā and non-Māori need to know that context. Secondly, we need to be humble about it. I’ll put it like this - it’s a give and take procedure. You learn the language, now what will you give back to the language? What is your gift to the language? I’m not saying you need to be an expert in the language, in all things Māori and Māori related but the Pākehā voice can be used to fight the Crown and its awful deeds right now. That is one of the biggest things Pākehā and non-Māori can do.