OPINION
Last week’s Toitū Te Reo, hosted in Heretaunga, was a celebration of te reo and Māori culture of a sort we’ve never seen anywhere in the world before.
The positivity about the kaupapa, the enthusiasm for our reo and the willingness of people across the spectrum to share Māori culture has been a soothing tonic for the bitterness we have seen from some quarters.
Toitū Te Reo demonstrated that despite negative rhetoric from a small group, there is widespread support for recognising Māori culture as a special part of our national identity.
As numbers swelled over the first morning of the festival, the energy was electric. There was a growing feeling that we were part of something momentous.
Over the two-day event, more than 7000 attended, with many iwi sending delegations from the far ends of the motu. Tangata Tiriti were also out in force to show that they support te reo.
More than 40 Heretaunga-based corporates sponsored the event to ensure the Pūkana stage entertained hundreds of rangatahi. Those business owners told organisers that they see the importance of encouraging their staff to learn Māori and embrace te ao Māori in the workplace.
Māori spoken all around on the streets
One of the highlights was seeing our tamariki and rangatahi speaking te reo to each other. For some, it was the first time time hearing the reo being spoken all around them on the street.
One woman wrapped her arms around me and, with tears rolling down her face, told me that Toitū Te Reo had been life-changing for her. There was such an out-pouring of aroha.
Speakers at the event, including Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi chair Bayden Barber and Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, called for the event to be repeated and to build its offering.
Toitū Te Reo has provided a platform for Māori and non-Māori to unite, to discuss the challenges that currently face the language, to pursue pathways for future learning, to be inspired and to simply come together to speak te reo.
Aotearoa has come too far to turn the dial back. Toitū Te Reo has proven to the world that te reo Māori is flourishing and cherished, defying the negative rhetoric from a vocal few.
We look forward to doing this again in 2025 to provide continued momentum to this important kaupapa.
Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa) spent 13 years as director of te reo, tikanga and mātauranga for Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. He departed last year, shifting focus to his consultancy firm Kauwaka Ltd, remaining very much involved with Ngāti Kahungunu’s revitalisation efforts.