Friday, March 20, 2015

Celebrating our Indigenous Language

Excerpt from The impact of colonisation on te reo Māori: A critical review of the State education system by Rachael Ka'ai Mahuta (2011)
The Treaty of Waitangi is a document that was designed to uphold the rights, language and culture of Māori. Instead, the indigenous culture of Aotearoa was subject to the European policy of assimilation. This means that though the agreement in the treaty was that the indigenous culture would be respected and nurtured, the reality was that Māori would simply be absorbed by the Pākehā culture, leaving no room for their language or traditions to be recognised.

In 1847 Sir George Grey introduced the Education Ordinance, effectively ending the incorporation of indigenous cultural identity in schools, going as far as to remove Māori children from their families so they would be completely immersed in European culture. Naturally this was the beginning of the huge decline in indigenous cultural practice. The impact of this language loss on culture and identity within the school environment is vast. In the early 1900's around 90% of students starting school had Te Reo as their first spoken language. By the 1960's it had reduced to closer to 25% (Ka'ai Mahuta, R., 2011) Today that number may be as low as 5%.

In the early 1970's concern for Māori language was expressed, leading to a petition requesting Te Reo be taught in schools signed by 30,000 was delivered to Parliament and Maori Language week is introduced. In the 1980's the efforts increased and the first Te Reo radio stations were broadcast. In the 1990's the Education Amendment Act provides formal recognition for Kura Kaupapa Māori and wānanga, Māori broadcasting funding agency Te Māngai Pāho established to promote Māori language and culture, More than twenty iwi radio stations broadcast throughout the country and the Government announces funding for Māori television channel. Today, the New Zealand Government recognises the errors in how the indigenous culture was treated after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, offering apologies, compensation and rectification of indigenous rights. (Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori)

My schools commitment to celebrating indigenous language is apparent in many different ways and is frequently being reviewed in order to provide the best possible coverage of Aotearoa's founding language and culture. We run a strong Te Reo programme in our classroom, attempting to use the language for a multitude of reasons school wide. For example: greetings, instructions and Waiata. In 2015 a Kapa haka group was introduced to celebrate Māori traditional song and dance. The school leadership programme provides ample opportunity for all our students from a multitude of cultures to join together and create a club that sparks a particular interest while teaching the students strong leadership values. We are encouraged to consider the impact on and upholding Māori values when creating our professional inquiry focuses each year.

Coming from a school that has a heavy population of students who are English Language Learners, it is imperative that we respect all the cultures that make up our small inner city school. With this, it is of equal importance that we show the same respect to our indigenous culture by incorporating it in to our every day schooling. We encourage families to continue speaking their native tongue at home so the students stay strong in their first language, and maintain knowledge of their families culture, traditions and values. As we move forward, we will continue to be inclusive of our school community when considering our next steps. To support indigenous language revitalization and maintenance, teachers must upskill themselves enough to be able to do justice to the cause. I feel a logical step forward in my own practice would be to take further steps in learning Te Reo and about the culture that is native to Aotearoa.

Resources used:

Ka'ai Mahuta, Rachael. 2011: The impact of colonisation on te reo Māori: A critical review of the State education system. Retrieved from: http://tekaharoa.com/index.php/tekaharoa/article/view/97/59

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori - 'Maori Language Issues: History'. Retrieved from http://tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/issues_e/hist/index.shtml

'Māori Language Week', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/maori-language-week, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 5-Aug-2014

1 comment:

  1. Anna, I will try this again. I loved that you were asked to undertake this research as part of your Mindlab certification. Language revival has been a passion of mine for several years. I feel validated that the message is getting out there about the importance of first language maintenance. Maybe you can take on the badge task for Te Reo that indicate members who can wear badges or ‘symbols’ to show individual stages of language development, proficiency and support. http://www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners/basics/lessons/index.html

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