Image: Petition to introduce te reo Māori in schools, 1972 (19531308104)

Description: In 1985 the Waitangi Tribunal heard the historic Te Reo Māori claim. This asserted that te reo Māori (the Māori language) was a taonga (treasure) that 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 Maori Language Act. On 1 August 1987 this Act came into force, making te reo Māori an official language of New Zealand. The Act also established the Maori Language Commission to promote the use of Māori as a ‘living language’ and ‘an ordinary means of communication’. The Act was the result of a long struggle by Māori and their allies. Between 1920 and 1960 there was a significant decline in the number of speakers of te reo Māori. The 1970s saw an increase in political and cultural action to revitalise the language, change attitudes towards te reo and support political issues including land and te Tiriti o Waitangi rights. In 1972 the influential group, Ngā Tamatoa, collected this petition of over 30,000 signatures. It called for the government to offer Māori language in schools, as a gift from Māori to Pākehā. It was an important public act which included the delivery of the petition to Parliament on 14 September 1972. That year the group was also instrumental in establishing Māori Language Day, which extended to Māori Language Week in 1975. Māori Language Week, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, continues to this day. Archives Reference: ABGX 16127 W4731 Box 152/ 1972/42 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=18369539 For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter twitter.com/ArchivesNZ Material from Archives New Zealand Caption information from www.nzhistory.net.nz and www.teara.govt.nz/en/te-reo-maori-the-maori-language/page-4
Title: Petition to introduce te reo Māori in schools, 1972 (19531308104)
Credit: Petition to introduce te reo Māori in schools, 1972
Author: Archives New Zealand from New Zealand
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