1. Te Reo - A Journey of Revival & Revitalisation
Māori
Te Reo - A Journey of Revival & Revitalisation

2. 1840 95% plus of popn. speak te reo 2006 4,143,279 popn.
Speak Maori 131,613
3% of the total population
23.7% of the Maori population
,241,448 popn.
Speak Maori 148,395
2.9% of the total population
21.3% of Maori population
In 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, I estimate that more than 95% of the total population of this country were speakers of te reo Māori. In the 2006 Census of New Zealand’s population, there were a total of 4,143,279 people who were normally resident in this country and 131,613 of those people are Māori who claim to be able to speak Māori, that’s just over 3% of the total population of the country, but 23.7% of the Māori population (ethnic Māori 565,329). That’s a drop from 95% down to 3% in a matter of just 168 years.

3. Factors Contributing to Language Loss
Treaty of Waitangi
Colonisation
Land Alienation
Urbanisation
Education

4. “Māori society transformed itself with enthusiasm
“Māori society transformed itself with enthusiasm ... In some areas the adaptation of Pakeha technology to Māori communal enterprise was so successful that Pakeha migrants could scarcely compete”
(Pu-ao-te-ata-tu Appendix to the Ministerial Advisory Committee Report on Social Welfare 1988:5).

5. Colonisation Missionaries & Mission Schools Commerce and Trade
Land alienation via the Māori Land Court

6. Maori resistance Kingitanga Ratana Land March – Dame Whina Cooper 1975
Waitangi
Bastion Point 1978
Raglan Golf Course 1978
Hikoi 2004

7. Te Tiriti o Waitangi Sovereignty – kāwanatanga vs rangatiratanga
governance vs chiefly authority
“...full and undisturbed possession of …taonga...” ?????
Equal rights of citizenship … te reo vs English???

8. WAI 11 1985 Marches through Wellington
Petition to Parliament – Hana Jackson (Te Hemara)
Huirangi Waikerepuru and Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te reo Incorporated Society
Article 2 Treaty Right - neglect, failure to protect
Article 3 Treaty Right – equal rights of citizenship
Claim heard in 1985 – 1986
Tribunal Report presented – 1986
Te Reo legislated as an Official language of Aotearoa

9. The Māori Language Act 1987
Māori Language Commission: Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
Role is ‘to foster the language’
Māori is an official language of New Zealand
Māori language be made available in the courts, in education, and in the media.

10. Population and Speakers of Maori
1858
1901
1996
2001
2006
2013
Total NZ Popn.
115,462
737,650
3,061,546
3,820,749
4,143,279
4,241,448
Māori
% of Total pop.
56,049
45,549 6%
579,714
19%
604,110
15.8%
643,977
15.5%
598,602
14.1%
Non-Māori
59,413
692,101
2,481,832
3,216,639
3,499,302
3,642,846
Māori speakers
140,886
126,729
131,613
125,352
% of total popn.
4.6%
3.3%
3.1%
2.9%
% of Maori population
24.1%
23.7%
21.3%
Non-Māori speakers
Estimated 300
19,896 ?
23,043
Only estimates of the Māori population in 1840 are available as census figures were only taken from However, at the time of the Treaty, the dominant population was Māori, the predominant language was Māori and the predominant ideology and culture was Māori. But, in a matter of a very few years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the population of this country reflected a very different picture. In 1858 the population of New Zealand was 115,462, of whom 56,049 were Māori and 59,413 non-Māori. By the turn of the century, in the 1901 census, the Māori population was 45,549 and the non-Māori population, now outnumbering Māori by at least 15:1, was 692,101 (Hunn Report 1960).
The decline in the Māori population (1901) can be attributed to a number of factors. Battles fought at various times throughout the country took their toll on the population (Sinclair, 1957; Belich, 1988) as well as introduced illnesses, for which Māori had no immunity resulting in considerable loss of life. At a secondary level, the implementation of English governance in New Zealand dramatically altered economic and social circumstances for Māori. Legal process and land legislation in particular, disenfranchised Māori and alienated them from their spiritual and cultural heritage inherent in their lands. Metge (1967), Sorrenson (1979), Kawharu (1979) and others have written extensively of the effects of land alienation and the subsequent dislocation and marginalisation experienced by Māori generally, and for generations thereafter.
Another factor that may have contributed to that decline in population may also be attributed to the relatively poor enumeration processes employed in the late nineteenth century. And, that pertains also to general record official keeping, even up to the 1940’s and 1950’s.
McCreary (1968) notes “... the decline [in population] was probably exaggerated by under-enumeration and the recovery may, in part, reflect improved data collection” (1968:188).

11. Language Shift
… a by-product of unequal rates of social change and of growth of echotechnical power and therefore, of self regulation, i.e. the very same processes that also contribute to the widespread anomie and alienation that typify so much of modern life among the culturally dominant and the culturally recessive alike (Fishman,1991:6).

12. Maori rural communities - urbanisation
[“When I went to school, the Pipiwai Native School, there were lots of children there then, about three or four classes … maybe a hundred children. These valleys were heavily populated then, maybe thirty families living here, ….. farming, milking cows. Today there’s no school and only a very few people actually live there now.”]

13. Urbanisation & Te Reo
The Sociolinguistic Survey of Language Use in Māori Households and Communities 1973
Who speaks Māori, age, gender, and locality
In what areas of daily life is Māori spoken
What are the situations where both Māori and English are used by bilingual individuals.
What factors support the use and the learning of Māori

14. Sociolinguistic Survey Results
There are no areas where Māori is still the Community language – Ruatoki & Matawaia
Language use decreased with each generation
Language attitudes between native speakers and L2 learners were different
Urban dwellers were more acutely aware of language loss
Language loss imminent
Kohanga Reo 1981

15. Maori Language Surveys
1995
No communities where Māori still the community language
“practically no social milieu in which to utilise it [te reo] or from which to derive ordinary communicative support for it” (Fishman, 1991:231),

16. Surveys of the Maori Language
2001 – Survey of the Health of the Māori Language
2003
Surveys of Attitudes, Beliefs and Values to the Māori Language
The Health of the Māori Language in the Education Sector: Te Ora o te Reo : Māori i te Rāngai Mātauranga
The Māori Language Strategy
2004
Māori Language in the Community

17. Indicators of Identity
Whakapapa
Whanaungatanga
Tikanga
Marae
Land
Te Reo
Upbringing
Physical Attributes
Nā te reo te kākahu o te whakaaro, te huarahi ki te ao tūroa o te hinengaro.
Ko te reo, te mauri o te mana Māori. (Tā Himi Henare)

18. Survey Results: Research 2006

20. Revitalisation of Te Reo
The journey of reviving te reo is ongoing and we need to be vigilant to ensure it not only survives but that it thrives.
Positives
Māori Language Commission Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
Māori in Media, in Parliament, in Education, in Justice
Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, Wharekura, Whare wānanga
Opportunities for learning te reo are many and varied and more accessible.
Attitudes towards te reo Māori are more positive than ever before
Waitangi Tribunal – WAI 11, WAI 262
Ongoing research – Te Reo Mauriora

21. Te Reo Mauriora 2011
Review of the Māori language Sector and the Māori Language Strategy
Commissioned by Minister of Māori Affairs Dr Pita Sharples – July 2010
Te Paepae Motuhake – Independent Panel of Experts
Hui nationally
Report commissioned in response to calls from Cabinet on the cost of funding te reo revitalisation and minimal change is taking place in respect of increasing numbers of speakers.

22. Te Paepae Motuhake – terms of reference
7 areas to report on to Government
Principles
Outcomes
Role of Māori and Government
Organisation and Infrastructure
Key Initiatives
Expenditure
Value

23. Considerations Two main areas Re-establishing Te Reo in Māori homes
A new governance process for the delivery of te reo programmes with strong accountability practices in place

24. Major points Sustain authentic language – speak!
Retain Dialects – WAI 252 Chap.5
Access – learners can hear and use te reo in safety
Te Reo will be valued
Iwi must step up and lead
Technology
Teachers – improve their proficiency
Speakers are supported
Raise awareness of the whole country so they too will value Te Reo
Constant Evaluation and Research

25. Recommendations Minister for Te Reo Māori is appointed
Te Mātāwai is established – 9 representatives, 7 from Iwi dialectal regions plus 2 Urban Centres
Runanga-a-Iwi – 9 regions – plan programmes, fund these and ensure accountability
Public Sector are to enable and support Māori to re-establish te reo in homes
Future revitalisation strategies are to be Iwi led.
Te Matawai – governance with the Minister

26. Conclusion “Ina tae atu au i mua i te aroaro o te Atua, ā ka mea
mai, ‘I aha koe i tōku reo nāku koe i hoatu?’ He aha
taku whakautu?”
Metekingi