Māori language revival

you see that with that does come funding, does come greater cultural awareness and conversation and political desire for language rights.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, something that was incredibly successful for them were the Kohanga Reo, which are the language nests.

So elders in the community who are fluent, raising and teaching children at preschool, creating very young, capable speakers who then kept having Maori instruction throughout their childhood and adolescence so that they got the language back.

That's kind of labor-intensive, expensive for whoever underwrites a program like this.

on the steps of Parliament, and so many things happen from that.

The Māori Language Commission, Te Taira Whiri o Te Reo Māori, there's an offshoot now of Te Mātāwai, obviously the Kohanga movement in the early 90s, all have come out of that, and the Kohanga movement, by the way, has become an international model for how to preserve indigenous languages.

And then all of those things are the things that allowed the Kura Kaupapa movement, that have allowed me to do the job that I do.

So I feel, yeah, I think I had never read this passage before.

Uh, mother's side I'm from Reweti, uh, te tāu, āe, Ngāti Whātua.

Um, very fortunate I grew up in the Kōhanga Reo era.

The story goes my mum walked into a, into kindergarten.

She walked through the front door, walked out the back door, and she went home and started a Kōhanga Reo, and this was the movement in the late '80s.

And I'm forever grateful for that, bro, because I believe if she didn't do that, I would be a totally different person.

Mm.

And so Kōhanga Reo movement was created in a way to revitalize our language and culture, but most importantly, make us feel connected to who we are.

So my nan was one of our kaiako.

Following a prolonged period of decline under colonial rule, the language became the focus of major revitalisation efforts, which have produced significant gains in education, public visibility and official recognition, although it has not completely reversed the shift away from the language.

Maori language early childhood immersion centres, known as Kohanga Reo, were established in 1982, followed by the expansion of Maori medium schooling and other educational initiatives.

In 1987, Maori became an official language of New Zealand.

By 2025, more than 28,000 students were enrolled in Maori medium education, where at least 51% of the instruction is delivered in Maori, compared with about 22,000 in 2020.

There are some things that you, David Seymour, and Rawiri Waititi agree on.

Charter Schools is one of them, Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa.

Is there any world in which your two parties could reach consensus on the role of Te Tiriti?

The only way you're going to do that is ensure that you fund the next phase of Matike Mai, which is about ensuring that there's a national conversation held about this.

Just, I mean, just those people, I don't care about the people in the chat having a crack, go for it, but just listen to him.

He can't even pronounce words correctly that he's trying to say.

He's trying to claim credit for Kohanga Reo and being there.

And he doesn't say the word correctly.

These activists called themselves Ngā Tamatoa, or young warriors.

Along with other regional groups, they organized against the New Zealand government's marginalization and forced assimilation of Maori communities, starting with policies designed to stem the use of Te Reo Maori." And the article continues, "Dame Iritana Tawhirangi was a founder and instrumental leader of the movement's first major success, Kōhanga Reo.

Opened in 1982, the Kōhanga Reo model was one of commitment.

Parents and toddlers were expected to speak only Te Reo both in the classroom and at home, and the curriculum focused solely on Maori history and culture.

Elders and other proficient language speakers led the class.

Translated in English to language nests, the Kōhanga Reo was the first program of its kind to use total language and cultural immersion.

For Maori communities, the schools were a revelation." According to the Tawhiriri Raini, the program started with five schools, and within three years expanded to more than three hundred locations.

The rapid spread of Kōhanga Reo marked an unprecedented success of cultural reclamation.

But at that point, things were quite different.

Also, it wasn't... as easy to learn Maori before Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa.

And also, to be honest, it wasn't as valued as a language.

I remember distinctly being told, you know, learn Japanese, that'll be good for your career.