“I like to keep a low profile. I wouldn’t go so far as saying I’m an introvert, but I prefer being in the shadows to being in the light.” — Leon Heketū Blake, a leading reo teacher, translator, and composer.
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“When I started being exposed to te reo Māori, learning it seemed like a natural progression rather than a radical idea.” — Rituraj Sapkota.
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“In South Africa, I had learned Afrikaans, Latin and Zulu at school, so it was just a natural thought that as a new Kiwi, I needed to learn te reo Māori out of respect for Indigenous people.” — Barb Costelloe.
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“What I remember from those first reo classes was realising that my monolingual, monocultural upbringing was not the only way of seeing the world, and that learning a language as an adult is hard.” — Atakohu Middleton, author of ‘Waka Aroha’, a new collection of Māori-language short stories.
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“As a learner, it’s easy to become overly cautious about the language. We can get bogged down in the seriousness of te reo Māori, in the formality and solemnity of it, the oratory, karanga, and karakia.” — Eugene Bingham.
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An extract from Atakohu Middleton’s newly published collection ‘Waka Aroha: He kohinga pakipoto’ — the first sole-authored book of short stories in te reo Māori, written for adults.
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“If you don’t have the repertoire, you’re just gonna sing Pokarekare Ana over and over.” — Kawiti Waetford, opera singer and Māori lead at NZ Opera.
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“I’m not arguing that Pākehā can’t learn te reo Māori. Anyone can learn te reo Māori, speak te reo Māori, and have a relationship with te reo Māori. But only Māori can claim te reo as ‘ours’.” — Taea Staples.
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“It’s only a small effort and a smattering of words against the sea of culture and history, but my small effort in many directions has taken some of the bitterness from my heart and brought me into relation with the entire world of people.” — Makaira Waugh.
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“It’s unhelpful to think of Indigenous people as idealised, perfect creatures. To do so is to separate us from the flaws, and thus the humanity, that we share with all human beings.” — Nīkau Wi Neera.
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“I would try hard to find jobs that ensured I’d have people around me who spoke te reo and encouraged it. I’ve been very deliberate and intentional about that.” — Hone Hurihanganui, teacher and composer of waiata and haka.
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“When we’re feeling vulnerable, with negative self-chatter going round and round in our heads, the fear of making a mistake stills our tongues.” — Atakohu Middleton talks to Awanui Te Huia about how negative self-talk can undermine efforts to learn te reo.
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“Seeing vowels present in Māori words grows a person’s ability to communicate and to understand New Zealand English, of which many Māori words are an everyday part.” — Vincent Olsen-Reeder and Corinne Seals.
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“Te reo can’t be revitalised to its fullest extent without addressing some of the fundamental constraints under which its revitalisation is taking place.” — Awanui Te Huia.
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“Many people are worried and scared, simply because they’re Māori working in the public sector. There is a real feeling of helplessness.” — Kura Moehau.
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“When I first started coaching in the 1980s, I didn’t have the right language to express the values that have always guided me. They were expressed in European terms.” — Lance Smith.
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“Growing up, my connection to ao Māori was non-existent. My dad taught us that learning Māori and being Māori wouldn’t get us far in life.” — Shiloh Ratima.
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“I arrived here with the baggage of ignorance, thinking that New Zealand was a white country. I spent several years living in that wilful ignorance, and I kept my head down trying to be a model minority.” — Ahmed Aziz.
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“Māori know our whānau, and we are committed to our responsibilities to mokopuna. Intergenerational lives can be changed if we hold the ground that has been hard-fought for by our mana wāhine.” — Kerri Cleaver.
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“The reo Māori petition and every learner and speaker of the language since September 14, 1972, has overturned one of the most damaging status quos suffered by our people.” — Tainui Stephens.
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“From a Māori perspective of the interconnectedness of things, there is a particularly isolating, divisive tendency in English, which diminishes full Māori meanings.” — Professor Carl Mika.
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“Mum was an articulate, visionary, and fearless woman. She was the biggest driver of the petition for reo Māori to be included in the school curriculum . . . She did all that organising from her kitchen table.” — Ramari Jackson.
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“I have always wondered how our Pākehā counterparts would have fared if they were taught solely in te reo Māori, a language that was not spoken in their homes.” — Tā Toby Curtis.
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“We’re here to pass on our mātauranga Māori, and to lift each other up.” — Āwhina Kihi.
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“Once you’ve started to kōrero Māori with your kurī, there’s no going back.” — Siena Yates.
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“Te reo Māori is endangered in the land it comes from. It is a language that is native to this country and like an endangered bird, its future depends on what we do.” — Professor Rawinia Higgins.
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“I vowed that I wouldn’t allow myself to be shamed by my ignorance again. As I think back to that long ago hui, part of me realises that all I had to do was get over myself.” — Tainui Stephens.
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“I think you might be able to classify Māori as one of two kinds: whakamā and katakata. The test for which kind you are is whether or not you do skits.” — Aaron Craig.
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“I believe that the music will continue to help us heal, so we can celebrate the new cultural narrative of Aotearoa, and be proud of the diverse cultural heritage we all share.” — Hinewehi Mohi.
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“I most certainly believe there is power and mana in the karakia that were performed. Our Māori spirituality is a big thing. It always has been and it always will be.” — Korohere Ngapo.
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