Tribute to wāhine toa who help keep te reo Māori strong

Kia kaha te reo Māori: Tribute to wāhine toa who help keep te reo Māori strong

Pānui Pāpāho| News Release
2 Mahuru September|2019

Kia kaha te reo Māori: E mihi ana ki ngā wāhine i whai kia kaha tonu ai te reo Māori

Kua puta te tautoko a te Kaikōmihana Reo Māori i te taitamāhine i taunutia e te kiritaki ki tētahi wharekai i Tāmaki.

“E whakatinana ana a Mia Griffiths o Tāmaki i te kaupapa o Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’, hei tā Ahorangi Rawinia Higgins, Te Kaikōmihana mō Te Reo Māori.

“E tū whakahīhī ana mātou i tēnei taitamāhine i whakaatu i te mana ahakoa te tūkino: E ora tonu ana te reo Māori i te kaha ū o te wahine toa kia kaha tonu ai te reo Māori ahakoa te uaua: Ko Mia tētahi.

E takatū ana te manomano ki te whakanui i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Rāhina 9 – Rātapu 15 Mahuru). 18,000 ngā tāngata kua rēhita kē ki ngā hīkoi whakangahau ki Pōneke, ki Whangarei, ki Takapuna, ki Tūranga, Ki Maungakiekie, ki Manukau me Kirikiriroa.

“He ora, he hihiri, he rangatira anō hoki te reo Māori e wāriutia ana e ngā tāngata katoa ahakoa ko wai, nō hea, te pakeketanga hoki. I tērā tau i puta i te New York Times te kōrero mō ngā kainoho ki tētahi whare kaumātua i Ōtautahi e ako ana i te reo Māori. I puta i tētahi kuia Pākehā, 93 ōna tau, tōna pouri nui i tōna kore mōhio ki te kōrero Māori.”
“Kua 35 ngā tau mai i te wā, i whakamōrea te wahine toa a Naida Glavish i tana mahi i Te Poutāpeta mō te whakamahi i te mihi ‘Kia ora’ kaua ko ‘Good Morning’.”
“I whakaatu ngā tokorua nei i te mana me te huatau: i mahi anō hoki rāua kia kaha tonu ai tō tātou reo Māori. Kia Kaha te Reo Māori.”

“I whakaatu te manomano o te tangata i tō rātou tautoko i a Mia i ngā rā tata nei, ā e karanga atu ana kia honohono mai rātou ki te whakanui i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2019”, te kī a Ahorangi Higgins.

Mō ētahi kōrero anō mō Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, tirohia ki konei

Kia kaha te reo Māori: Tribute to wāhine toa who help keep te reo Māori strong

The Māori Language Commissioner has spoken out in support of a young Ngāpuhi woman who was mocked by a diner she was serving last week.

“Auckland teenager Mia Griffiths – disrespected after she pronounced Māori words correctly while waitressing – embodies the Māori Language Week theme: ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’,” said Professor Rawinia Higgins, Commissioner for Te Reo Māori.

“We are proud of this young wahine toa who acted with mana in the face of abuse: the Māori language exists today because of everyday people who have kept it strong, even when it’s not been easy: people like Mia.”

Thousands of New Zealanders are already gearing up to help celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Monday 9th– Sunday 15th September) with 18,000 already registered to take part in seven hīkoi whakangahau or Māori Language parades in Wellington, Whāngarei, Takapuna, Gisborne, Maungakiekie, Manukau and Hamilton.

“Te Reo Māori is a living, dynamic and rich language that people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds value. Last year the New York Times shared a beautiful story about residents at a Christchurch retirement home who were learning te reo. One eager student, a 93-year-old Pākehā kuia, said it had been one of the great regrets of her life that she hadn’t been able to speak te reo.”

“It’s been 35-years since another wāhine toa, Dame Naida Glavish risked her job at the Post Office Tolls board because she greeted callers with ‘Kia ora’ instead of ‘Good Morning’.”

“Both of these women chose to act with mana and grace: they also chose to keep our Māori language strong. Kia Kaha te Reo Māori.”

“Thousands of people have shown their support for Mia in the past few days and we encourage them to join us as we celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2019”, said Professor Higgins.

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