Race Relations Day a Great Day to Honour the Promise of the Treaty

Te Ururoa Flavell; Treaty and Education Spokesperson

Wednesday 21 March 2007

Treaty Spokesperson for the Maori Party, Te Ururoa Flavell, today welcomed the introduction of draft curriculum guidelines for te reo Maori in English-medium schools as a positive initiative to restore the relationship between the Treaty partners.

“Prior to 1840, te Reo Maori was the predominant language of Aotearoa – and at the time of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was the key medium for communication in all interactions between Maori and Pakeha” said Mr Flavell.

“Yet within a decade of settlement, te Reo Maori was already being regarded as a minority language” said Mr Flavell.

“What then occurred was the statutory silencing and suppression of the Maori voice, as the Crown consistently failed to protect te reo Maori as required by Article two of the Treaty” said Mr Flavell. “By 1985, the number of Mâori speakers was estimated to have fallen to only 50,000 or 12 percent of the Mâori population”.

“1987 was a monumental year in our lives” said Mr Flavell. “A year in which the Mâori Language Act was passed in Parliament; te reo Mâori was declared to be an official language; and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Mâori was established” said Mr Flavell; “and with it, we finally saw some indication of Article Two of the Treaty being recognised”.

“We have noted the recommendations from the Race Relations Commissioners in his 2006 report, Tui Tui Tuituia, that the use of reo Mâori should be further extended if we are to strengthen the Crown-Maori relationship” said Mr Flavell.

“The Treaty – at its very heart – is about the communication between our peoples” said Mr Flavell.

“I remember the warning from the Te Reo Maori claim: Ka ngaro te reo, ka ngaro taua, pera i te ngaro o te Moa”. (If the language becomes extinct, we will become extinct just like the extinction of the moa")

ENDS

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