Te Petihana mō te Reo Māori me tōna pūtaketanga mai
The Māori Language Petition and how it happened
I 1972, neke atu i te 30,000 tāngata i waitohu ai i te petihana e tono ana i te kāwanatanga ki te tautoko i te whakaakoranga o te reo Māori i ngā kura.
In 1972 more than 30,000 people signed a petition asking the government to support the teaching of te reo Māori in schools.
Te reo Māori
Te reo Māori — the Māori language
Ko te reo Māori te reo o te iwi Māori o Aotearoa, he taonga e waiwai ana ki te ahurea Māori . He wāhi nui tō te reo Māori i te tuakiri Māori.
Ko te pūtaketanga mai o te reo Māori
I kune mai te reo Māori i Aotearoa i roto i ngā rau tau. Ka rerekē te mita i ngā rohe nā runga i te:
noho wehe o ētahi hapori
haere mai o ngā tīpuna Māori i ētahi motu rerekē i Poronīhia ki te Rāwhiti.
Ko te reo Māori te reo matua i kōrerotia ki Aotearoa i te tīmatanga o te rau tau 19. Ka kōrero Māori te tokomaha o ngā kainoho Pākehā i taua wā nō te mea i noho whakawhirinaki rātau ki a Ngāi Māori mō te nuinga o ngā mea i hiahia ai rātau, tae atu ki ngā mahi tauhokohoko.
Ka heke haere te kōrerotanga o te reo Māori
Tae rawa mai ki ngā tau tōmua o ngā 1860, ko te tokomaha o te taupori o Aotearoa, he Pākehā. Nā konei, ka noho ko te reo Ingarihi te reo matua o Aotearoa.
I ākina a Ngāi Māori kia ako i te reo Ingarihi kia kuhu atu ai rātau ki te hapori whānui. I whakapāhunutia te kōrero i te reo Māori. Tokomaha tonu a Ngāi Māori i whiua mō te kōrero i tō rātau ake reo i te kura.
Kāore i roa ka whāiti haere te kōrerotanga i te reo Māori ki ngā hapori Māori i te tuawhenua rā anō. Eke mai ki te waenganui o te rautau 20, he tokomaha i māharahara kei te mate haere te reo.
Ka tipu haere te taupori Pākehā, ka kaha ake te aro a te Kāwanatanga ki te reo Ingarihi.
I 1867, i whakamanatia te Ture Kura Māori (Native Schools Act), he mea hoahoa ki te whakawhenumi i a Ngāi Māori ki roto i te ao Pākehā. Ka mea te ture nei ko te reo Ingarihi anake te reo kia tuhia, kia kōrerotia rānei. Ko tā tēnei ture, he whakapāhunu i te ako a ngā tamariki Māori i tō rātau reo, ā, he rite tonu te whiu i ngā tamariki i kōrero i te reo Māori i aua kura.
Ka tae mai ki te huringa o te rautau, he tokomaha ngā tāngata i whakapono mā te kōrero i te reo Māori ka whakararu ai i tā te Māori ako i te reo Ingarihi, me te aukati i tā rātau whai wāhi atu ki te pāpori Pākehā (Ingarihi). Ka whakawhiua ngā whakatipuranga o Ngāi Māori mō te kōrero i te reo Māori, ka tīmata ngā iwi ki te whakapāhunu i te kōrerotanga o te reo, tae atu ki ngā kāinga tonu.
Ka tae mai ki 1953, kua heke te ōrau o ngā tamariki i taea e rātau te kōrero Māori ki te 26 ōrau, he hekenga e 64 ōrau te rahi i ngā tau 40.
Te reo Māori, the language of the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, is a taonga (treasure), essential to the expression of Māori culture. Te reo Māori is an important part of Māori identity.
Origins of te reo Māori
The Māori language evolved in New Zealand over hundreds of years. Dialects vary by region because of:
isolated local communities
Māori ancestors coming from a range of different islands in eastern Polynesia.
Te reo Māori was the main language spoken in New Zealand at the beginning of the 19th century. Most early European settlers spoke the language as they depended on Māori for many things, including trading.
Declining use of te reo Māori
By the early 1860s, most of Aotearoa’s population was Pākehā (non-Māori). As a result of this, English became New Zealand’s dominant language.
Māori were encouraged to learn English to assimilate with the wider community. Speaking te reo Māori was discouraged. Schools punished many Māori for speaking their own language.
Use of te reo Māori soon narrowed to more isolated Māori communities. By the mid-20th century, many feared the language was dying out.
As the Pākehā population grew, the colonial government emphasised the use of English more.
In 1867, the Native Schools Act was passed, which was designed to assimilate Māori into Pākehā society. The Act required English to be the only language written or spoken. Under the Act, schools discouraged Māori children from learning their language and punishments were common for children who spoke te reo Māori at these schools.
By the turn of the century, many believed that speaking te reo Māori would prevent Māori from successfully learning English, stopping them from participating in Pākehā (English) society. After generations of punishment for speaking te reo Māori, people began discouraging its use, even in the home.
By 1953, the percentage of Māori schoolchildren who were able to speak te reo Māori had dropped to 26 per cent, a 64 per cent decline over 40 years.
Te Petihana Reo Māori
Te Petihana Reo Māori the Māori Language Petition
Ahakoa te tāmitanga, ka ora tonu te reo Māori. Heoi, tokomaha ngā rangatira o te iwi Māori i kite atu, tērā te tino mōrearea ka ngaro te reo. I ngā tau 1970, i whakatūria ētahi rōpū ki te:
whakarauora i te reo Māori
panoni i ngā waiaro ki te reo Māori
tautoko i ngā kaupapa tōrangapū — pēnei i ngā tika whenua me te Tiriti o Waitangi hoki.
Despite its suppression, te reo Māori survived. But many Māori leaders recognised there was a legitimate danger of losing the language. In the 1970s several groups formed to:
revitalise the Māori language
change attitudes towards te reo Māori
support political issues — including land and te Tiriti o Waitangi rights.
I 1972, e 3 ngā rōpū — ko Ngā Tamatoa, ko te Huinga Rangatahi, me te Rōpū o Te Reo Māori — i mahi tahi ki te tuku atu i tētahi petihana ki te Pāremata hei whakatairanga i te reo Māori.
He aha tā te Petihana Reo Māori i tono ai
Ko tā te Petihana Reo Māori i tono ai kia whakaae te Kāwanatanga kia whakaakona te reo Māori i ngā kura. I tono atu mā ngā kura he tokomaha ā rātau tamariki Māori e whakaako i ngā karaihe mō te reo Māori me ngā āhuatanga o te ao Māori. I tono hoki kia wātea ēnei whakaakotanga ki ētahi atu kura hei koha nā Ngāi Māori ki a Pākehā mā.
In 1972, 3 groups — Ngā Tamatoa, Huinga Rangatahi the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association, and the Te Reo Māori Society — worked together to deliver a petition to Parliament to promote the Māori language.
What the Māori Language Petition asked for
The Māori Language Petition — known in te reo Māori as Te Petihana Reo Māori — called for the New Zealand government to offer Māori language in schools. It requested that schools with large Māori rolls offer courses about Māori language and aspects of Māori culture. It also asked that the same courses be offered at other schools as a gift to Pākehā from Māori.
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Ko wai i whai wāhi atu ki Te Petihana Reo Māori
Who worked on the Māori Language Petition
Ko Hana Jackson
He mea tīmata te Petihana Reo Māori e Hana Jackson (ko Te Hemara tōna ingoa takakau). Nō Te Āti Awa, nō Ngāti Toa, nō Ngāti Raukawa, nō Ngāi Tahu hoki a Hana Jackson, ā, e 22 tau te pakeke i te whakatakotoranga atu o te petihana.
Ko Ngā Tamatoa
He mema a Hana Jackson nō te rōpū kōkiri nei, a Ngā Tamatoa. I whakatūria tēnei rōpū i muri mai i te Huinga Kaihautū Rangatahi Māori i 1970. I kōkiri a Ngā Tamatoa i ngā take e pā ana ki te ahurea me te reo Māori, i tono hoki kia whakamanatia Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Ko Te Rōpū o Te Reo Māori
He mea whakatū i 1969 i Te Whare Wānanga o Te Upoko o te Ika, ko Te Rōpū o Te Reo Māori tērā i whai kia arohia te heke haere o ngā tāngata i tipu ake ki te reo Māori.
Ko Te Huinga Rangatahi
Ko Te Huinga Rangatahi, he rōpū i whakatūria i 1972 i te Huihuinga o Ngā Tauira Māori o Aotearoa.
Hana Jackson
The Māori Language Petition was instigated by Hana Jackson (née Te Hemara). Of Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāi Tahu descent, Jackson was 22 years old when the petition was presented.
Ngā Tamatoa
Jackson was a member of the activist group Ngā Tamatoa (The Young Warriors). The group formed after the Young Māori Leaders Conference in 1970. Ngā Tamatoa campaigned for Māori culture and language and wanted Te Tiriti o Waitangi ratified.
Te Reo Māori Society
Formed in 1969 at Victoria University of Wellington, Te Reo Māori Society aimed to address the declining number of native te reo Māori speakers.
Te Huinga Rangatahi
Te Huinga Rangatahi, the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association, was a group formed in 1972 from the New Zealand Federation of Māori Students.
Ko ngā waitohutanga i Te Petihana Reo Māori
Signatures for the Māori Language Petition
He kaupapa tēnei i tautokona e ngā kaumātua, heoi he mea ārahi Te Petihana Reo Māori e te rangatahi Māori. Hei tā Hana Jackson, ‘i te whakapau kaha rātau ki te waihanga i tētahi whenua pai ake’.
I mahi tahi a Ngā Tamatoa ki te Rōpū o Te Reo Māori me Te Huinga Rangatahi ki te kohikohi waitohu mō te petihana mai i te tōmuatanga o 1972. Ka kohikohi haere rātau i te 30,000 waitohu, neke atu, i ngā tāngata e tautoko ana i te karanga kia whakaakona te reo Māori ki ngā kura. Ko te tokomaha o te hunga i waitohu i te petihana, he Pākehā.
With support from elders, the Māori Language Petition was led by Māori youth. Jackson said they ‘were trying to build a better country’.
Ngā Tamatoa worked with Te Reo Māori Society and Te Huinga Rangatahi to gather petition signatures from early 1972. They collected over 30,000 signatures from people supporting the call for te reo Māori to be taught in schools. Most of the people who signed the petition were Pākehā.
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Ko te tuku atu i Te Petihana Reo Māori ki te Pāremata
Delivering the Māori language petition to parliament
I tukuna atu Te Petihana Reo Māori ki te Pāremata i te 14 o Mahuru 1972.
The Māori Language Petition was delivered to Parliament on 14 September 1972.
I te tapaetanga i noho tahi me te petihana, i kī ai a Hana Jackson (ki te reo Māori):
“Kia taea e mātau te kōrero Māori, koia ko te tino tūturutanga o te Māoritanga. Ko te tino iho tēnei o tō mātau Māoritanga. Ko tō mātau hononga tēnei ki ngā tau o mua me ōna piki me ōna heke. Ko te hononga tēnei ki ō mātau tīpuna.”
Nā Te Ōuenuku (Joe) Rene i ārahi te rōpū i whakatakoto atu ai i te petihana. Nā te kaumātua nei o Ngāti Toa i ‘tuku taonga’ i te petihana me tāna patu parāoa.
I tuku a Hana Jackson i te petihana ki a Matiu Rata, te Mema Pāremata mō Te Taitokerau, nāna i tāpae atu ki te aroaro tonu o te Whare. Kātahi ka tukua atu te petihana ki te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Mātauranga hei tirotiro mā rātau. I te 12 o Whiringa-ā-nuku, ka whakahoki kōrero te heamana o te komiti, ko John Chewings, ki te Whare. Ko tā te komiti i tūtohi ai, kia tukua te petihana ki te Kāwanatanga hei arotau māna. Nō muri mai, ka mōtinitia tētahi mōtini kia pēnei, ka whakaaetia.
In the submission that accompanied the petition, Jackson said (in Māori):
“For us to be able to speak Māori is the truest expression of our Māoritanga. It is the substance of our Māoritanga. It is our link with the past and all its glories and tragedies. It is our link with our tipuna.”
Te Ōuenuku (Joe) Rene led the group who presented the petition. The Ngāti Toa kaumatua (Māori elder) performed the ‘tuku taonga’ over the petition using a patu parāoa (club).
Jackson submitted the petition to Matiu Rata, the Member of Parliament for Northern Māori, who tabled it in the House of Representatives. The petition was then referred to the Education Select Committee for review. On 12 October, the committee’s chair, John Chewings, delivered a report back to the House. The committee's recommendation was to forward the petition to the Government for favourable consideration. A motion to this effect was subsequently proposed and adopted.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Hei tohu i tēnei mahi, ka kīia te 14 o Mahuru ko te Rā o te Reo Māori, nāwai rā ka whakawhanaketia ko Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
I whakawhānuitia tēnei rā kia eke ki Te Wiki o te Reo Māori i 1975. E noho tonu nei Te Wiki o te Reo Māori hei wā whakanui i ia tau mā ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa, arā kia whakanuia te reo Māori.
To mark the event, 14 September was declared Māori Language Day and eventually expanded to what we now know as Māori Language Week.
This day extended to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) in 1975. It continues today as an annual celebration for all New Zealanders to embrace and celebrate the Māori language.
What happened after the Māori Language Petition
Ka whakamiramira te kairangahau hītori a Aroha Harris tērā he wā tino whakahirahira te Petihana Reo Māori 1972 i ngā mahi whakarauora i te reo Māori. Nā te petihana nei i tahuri ai te kāwanatanga ki te whakauruuru haere i te akoranga reo Māori ki roto i ngā kura tuatahi, tuarua hoki arā hei kōwhiringa i te tuatahi, me te whakatū hoki i te akoranga kotahi tau te roa mā te hunga e matatau ana ki te reo hei urupare ki te tokoitinga o ngā kaiako e whai tohu ana. Nō muri mai i te petihana, ka haere tonu te akiaki a ngā hapori Māori kia nui ake te tautoko ōkawa i te reo, ka kōkiri hoki i ētahi kaupapa whakahirahira pēnei i te:
kōhanga reo
kura kaupapa Māori
reo irirangi ā-iwi
Whakaata Māori.
Katoa ēnei kaupapa i tino whai wāhi ki ngā mahi hei whakatairanga, hei whakataimau hoki i te reo Māori.
Historian Aroha Harris highlights that the 1972 Māori Language Petition was a crucial moment for the revitalisation of te reo Māori. The petition led the government to introducing Māori language teaching in primary and secondary schools, though initially as an optional subject, and to establish a one-year training course for native speakers to address the shortage of qualified teachers. Following the petition, Māori communities continued to advocate for more official support and launched several key initiatives including:
kōhanga reo (language immersion preschools)
kura kaupapa Māori (Māori-immersion schools)
iwi radio stations
Māori television.
All of these initiatives played a significant role in promoting and preserving the Māori language.
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Ka wānanga te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi i te kerēme mō Te Reo Māori
Waitangi Tribunal heard the Te Reo Māori claim
I 1985 ka wānanga te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi i te kerēme mō Te Reo Māori.
Hei tā tēnei kerēme, he taonga te reo, ā, he kawenga ā te Kāwanatanga ki te tiaki i a ia i raro i Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Ka tautoko te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi i tā ngā kaikerēme i kerēme ai, ka tūtohu i ētahi huarahi ā-ture, ā-kaupapahere hoki. Ko tētahi o ēnei, ko Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987.
In 1985 the Waitangi Tribunal heard the historic Te Reo Māori claim. This asserted that te reo Māori was a taonga the Crown was obliged to protect under the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Waitangi Tribunal found in favour of the claimants and recommended a number of legislative and policy remedies. One of these was the Māori Language Act 1987.
Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987
Māori Language Act 1987
Ka whakamanatia te reo Māori hei reo whaimana ōkawa ki Aotearoa i te 1 o Hereturikōkā 1987, arā ko te rā i mana ai Te Ture mō te Reo Māori. I whakatūria hoki e te Ture nei ko Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori hei whakatairanga i te reo Māori hei ‘reo ora’, hei ‘tino huarahi whakawhiti kōrero.’
Tirohia Te Ture mō te Reo Māori (1987)
I 2016, i whakakoretia Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987 e te wehenga 48 o Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016. Heoi kāore he tino rerekētanga hāunga ko ētahi wehenga hou me ētahi panonitanga reo.
Te reo Māori was made an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand on 1 August 1987, when the Māori Language Act came into force. The Act also established Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori the Māori Language Commission to promote the use of Māori as a ‘living language’ and ‘an ordinary means of communication.’
View the Māori Language Act (1987)
In 2016, the Māori Language Act 1987 was repealed by section 48 of the Māori Language Act 2016. However, there were no major changes just new provisions added and a change in language.
Ko Te Reo Māori i tēnei rā
Te reo Māori today
I tēnei rā, tērā ētahi rautaki maha e arahina ana e Ngāi Māori me te Karauna hei whakakaha i te kōrerotanga o te reo Māori.
Ngā rautaki hei whakakaha i te kōrerotanga o te reo Māori
Maihi Karauna — e aro ana ki ngā mahi hanga taiao e taurikura ai te reo Māori, me te tautoko mai o ngā pūnaha kāwanatanga. Ko ngā tino whāinga, koia:
kia 85% te ōrau o ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa (neke atu rānei) e whakamanawa ana ki te reo Māori hei tino wāhanga nō te tuakiri ā-motu.
kia 1 miriona ngā tāngata o Aotearoa (neke atu rānei) ka taea, ka māia ki te kōrero mō ngā āhuatanga māmā ki te reo Māori.
kia 150,000 o te iwi Māori e pakeke ake ana i te 15 tau ka ōrite te kaha o te kōrero i te reo Māori me te reo Ingarihi.
Maihi Māori - he mea waihanga, he mea ārahi e Ngāi Māori, mō Ngāi Māori arā mā rātau e ārahi i ā rātau ake kaupapa whakarauora. Ka aro tēnei rautaki ki te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori hei reo tuatahi mā te whakatipuranga hou o Ngāi Māori e pihi ake nei.
Pānuitia ētahi atu kōrero mō te Rautaki Reo Māori - Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
Today, a number of strategies led by Māori and the Crown are in place to strengthen the use of te reo Māori.
Strategies to strengthen use of te reo Māori
Maihi Karauna — focuses on creating conditions for te reo Māori to thrive and ensuring government systems support this. With the main goals being:
5% of New Zealanders (or more) will value te reo Māori as a key part of national identity.
1 million New Zealanders (or more) will have the ability and confidence to talk about basic things in te reo Māori.
150,000 Māori aged 15 and over will use te reo Māori as much as English.
Maihi Māori - is developed by and for Māori to lead their own revitalisation efforts. This strategy focuses on the restoration of te reo Māori as a first language for the next generation of Māori.
Read more information on the Māori Language Strategy - Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
He reo mō ake tonu atu
A forever language
'Ahakoa te pēhanga e moroki haere ana, kua whakaatu te reo Māori ka urutau ia, ka ora. Ka tipu ia me tō tātau iwi, tō tātau ahurea me tō tātau taiao.'
— Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
Mai i ngā 1980, he maha tonu ngā whakahaere e whai ana kia whakarauoratia te reo Māori kua whakatūria. Ahakoa te nui o te ahu whakamua, tae atu ki te whakamanatanga i te reo Māori hei reo whaimana ōkawa mō Aotearoa i Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987, nō nā tata tonu nei ka mutu ai te heke haere o te reo.
Ahakoa te korenga anō o ngā whāinga tuatahi o te petihana 1972 kia tino tutuki, kua whakaohohoho ngā mahi a ngā kaituku petihana i ngā panonitanga tōrunga maha. Ahakoa te korenga anō o ia kura e whakaako i te reo Māori, he tino tūāoma tonu te whakamanatanga ā-ture i te reo e te Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 1987. Kei te ora tonu te wairua o ngā kaituku petihana i ngā tāngata me ngā whakahaere maha e manawanui ana, e whakapau kaha ana ki te whakatutuki i ōna whāinga taketake. He tokomaha tonu ngā tāngata kei te hāpai i ngā mahi a ngā kaituku petihana, kei te manawanui kia tutuki ngā whāinga.
'Under enduring pressure te reo Māori has shown it will adapt and survive. It grows with our people, our culture and our environment.'
— Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori
Since the 1980s, numerous institutions dedicated to the recovery of te reo Māori have been established. Although significant progress has been made, including the recognition of Māori as an official language of New Zealand through the Māori Language Act 1987, the decline of the language has only recently been halted.
While the original goals of the 1972 petition have yet to be fully realised, the efforts of the petitioners have inspired many positive changes. While every school does not offer te reo Māori, the legal status granted by the Māori Language Act 1987, marks a major milestone. The legacy of the petitioners continues as many dedicated individuals and organisations strive to achieve the objectives originally set out. Many now continue the petitioners’ mahi (work), and are determined their objectives will be achieved.
Tirohia te Petihana Reo Māori
View the Māori Language Petition
Hei wāhanga nō tā mātau mahi hei kaitaki mō te 7 miriona pūranga neke atu i waihangatia e te Kāwanatanga me ngā whakahaere tūmatanui o Aotearoa, ka mahi mātau ki te tohu, ki te tiaki hoki i Te Petihana Reo Māori taketake ake.
I tuku mai te Tari o te Karaka o te Whare Pāremata i te petihana ki a mātau hei wāhanga nō ā rātau pūranga. Kei te pupuritia ia ināianei ki tā mātau pūranga ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, kua whakamatihikotia kia taea te tirotiro tuihono i ngā wā katoa me ngā wāhi katoa.
Tirohia Te Petihana Reo Māori mā te rapu i Ngā Kohinga
Tirohia ngā tāpaetanga e pā ana ki Te Petihana Reo Māori mā te rapu i Ngā Kohinga.
As part of our role as guardian of over 7 million records created by government and public institutions of Aotearoa New Zealand, we work to preserve and protect the original Māori Language Petition documents.
The Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives transferred the petition to us as part of their records. It is now safely stored in our Wellington archive and digitised so you can view it online, any time, anywhere.
View the Māori Language Petition on Collections search
View the submissions regarding Māori Language Petition on Collections search
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