“There are many Pākehā out there, including my mum and partner, who have learned or are learning te reo Māori, who are not just the metaphorical womb but are quite literally the whare tangata of our language.” — Professor Hona Black.
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“People don’t understand that we’re so far behind in representation on film. My parents had never heard ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i on film. My grandparents had never heard it.” — Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett, co-creator of ‘Chief of War’.
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“Generational trauma rises in me every time I think of Nana as a little girl being violently punished for speaking the only language she knew. Generational aroha pushes me forward to the mic.” — Marama Davidson on her reo journey.
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“I had started to notice our reo all around me. We could hear it on the news, and we could see it on our government buildings and street signs. You would hear people saying ‘Kia ora’ and ‘Mōrena’ when you got into work. It began to feel okay to be Māori. Then came the new coalition government.” — Hira Nathan.
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“The language movement was the tipping point that changed Aotearoa forever and for the better. Along with the reo came all the beliefs that define us as children of the land, stewards of each other, and active participants in the times.” — Tainui Stephens.
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“Cultural harm was no longer just ‘sad but unmeasurable’. It had become economically quantifiable. We’d created a bridge between how we understand our losses and how legal systems work.” — Atawhai Tibble.
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“The steamroller of Pākehā assimilation, combined with patriarchal notions of masculinity, flattened all the words out of Moses, in any language. This left only his hands to demonstrate what could not be uttered out loud.” — Nadine Hura, from her book ‘Slowing the Sun’.
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“I speak the reo like a newborn. I make shapes with my mouth and hope the correct sounds will come out. I’m now eight weeks into this journey, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs.” — Michelle Campbell.
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“I had no idea during that first class that I was about to embark on a path which would see me return to the classroom every year. I’d finish at one language institution and move to another.” — Renee Karena.
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“When the specialist tells me that I have only three months, I tell him: ‘Don’t talk to me like that again. I’m not going anywhere. I just want to know the plan. Let’s talk about the plan.’” — Dr Ēnoka Murphy.
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“The notion that Māori are responsible for our own language decline is a convenient argument. It absolves the Crown of its responsibilities to make right its many wrongs.” — Awanui Te Huia.
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“She wrote that mamae and those fears into her song, so others who could relate might find some comfort in it.” — Siena Yates on Whirimako Black’s classic waiata ‘Kei hea taku reo?’
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“I’d like to think the conversation we had reflects his true position, and that one day he’ll be brave enough to express his pride in our reo no matter who is listening.” — Awanui Te Huia.
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“Anaru’s ability to speak Māori committed him throughout his adult life to holding the government to task about its obligations to te reo Māori and Māori rights.” — Wena Harawira.
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“It’s right that Pākehā should speak Māori, and Pākehā engagement is important to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. . . . But, as a people, we must wait our turn.” — Andrew Robb.
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