Is racism the main barrier to te reo?
Zealanders to participate in te reo Ma¯ori, and build societal cohesion, surely that’s just paying lip service recipe to race relations – which does more harm than good.
That’s why we need a comprehensive national strategy to roll out universal te reo Ma¯ori in schools. The usual arguments against this idea usually fall into the camps of: “It’s a dying language, why waste tax payers’ was used as a political football in the lead-up to the election. However, political parties seldom unravel what keeps te reo Ma¯ori in a state of survival: systemic racism. Yes, racism.
It is a deep-seated racism, 200 years in the making, which continues to see te ao Ma¯ori as a tolerated nuisance, an invasion on Kiwi values instead of a key thread in New Zealand’s social tapestry.
Our country needs to form a long-term policy for universal te reo in schools. Accepting the idea of universal te reo Ma¯ori in schools means coming to terms with the fact that the English language (and the Eurocentric worldview) is not indigenous to this land. Not accepting it clarifies a reluctance in the dominant culture to concede power back to te ao Ma¯ori. Undoubtedly, the te reo debate also envelopes the ambivalent relationship we as New Zealanders have with our national identity and our constitution (or lack thereof).
This highlights the pivotal need, in tangent with universal te reo Ma¯ori, for the compulsory teaching of the New Zealand Land Wars. Partner this with introducing a pledge from new citizens to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and mandatory attendance at tikanga Ma¯ori workshops; then te reo Ma¯ori and the founding worldview of Aotearoa would be much more familiar for everyday New Zealanders.