Map showing retention and protection of Maori language

Map showing the retention and protection of the Maori language, 1973-1991 (see enlarged version of this image ).

The rapid urbanisation of Maori during and after the Second World War posed great challenges for Maori communities. A central question was how the culture would cope with the change brought about by living in urban centres, away from the strong rural roots of Maori culture. And if it were to survive and flourish, then who was in the best position to meet Maori needs: predominantly non-Maori governments or Maori themselves, through organisations such as the Maori Women's Welfare League, founded in 1951?

A report on the Department of Maori Affairs, released in 1961 and known as the Hunn Report, confirmed assimilation as official government policy. But more and more Maori wanted their unique culture to survive in towns and rural areas.

From the 1970s onwards, Maori radio stations, television shows, theatre, music, art and literature all developed or expanded. Language programmes developed for all ages from pre-schoolers upwards, and educational institutions where Maori was the main language of communication expanded. Prominent among these have been kohanga reo, first established in 1982 for toddlers to be immersed in a Maori-language environment.

Broadcasting was significant in promoting te reo (the Maori language). The reservation of radio frequencies for Maori broadcasters enabled the growth of a range of radio stations aimed at Maori listeners. The Maori language is heard frequently on these stations, along with Maori music.

A Maori television channel began broadcasting from 2004. It screens programmes in both English and te reo, including drama, film, sports commentaries and marae 'do-it-yourself' repair shows, and its announcers move freely between the languages.

Many non-Maori had not expected these changes. For some, the pace and nature of change threatened their ideal of integration and race relations. But for Maori, these changes were steps along the road to mana motuhake, and the retention of te reo was a central feature of that.

Further information:

links:

• Maori (Te Ara)
• Maori Language (An encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966)
• Te Puni Kokiri
• Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission)

publications:

• The health of the Maori language in 2001, Ministry of Maori Development, Wellington, about 2002
• State of the Maori nation: twenty-first-century issues in Aotearoa, Reed, Auckland, 2006
• Speakers of Maori within the Maori population: based on data from the census of population and dwellings, 1996 & 2001, Te Puni Kokiri, Wellington, 2003