As a Pākehā I feel incredibly privileged to be formally learning Te Reo Māori (language) this year through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s learning course. I am now in my second term of learning and I am thoroughly enjoying spending my Tuesday nights learning, singing and talking with my classmates.

The class of 20 is a different demographic from the one I initially imagined. Before arriving for the first class I thought that it would be primarily Pākehā professionals looking to improve their Māori language skills in order to be more culturally sensitive in the workplace.

It turns out that a big proportion of the class is Māori, either looking to engage with their own language for the first time, or looking to refresh their knowledge and be able to teach their own children. Chatting with my classmates about why they had chosen to undertake the course made me reflect on my positionality as a Pākehā. I am privileged to be able to learn a language that is not my own as opposed to learning to ensure that my own language and culture are not lost.

I’ve spent some time reflecting on the history of Te Reo Māori. It’s very sad to think that prior to World War II most Māori spoke Te Reo as their first language and yet by the 1980s a generation of Māori was emerging who couldn’t speak Te Reo. This was primarily because of the compulsory use of English in schools and the increasing urbanisation, which moved people away from their extended family. Since the 1980s there has been a considerable effort to ensure the revival of Te Reo.

It’s a joy to be able to make sense of the world around me as many places in New Zealand not only have Māori names but also rich stories behind them. This new learning has also served to highlight how the narratives of history have played out and how the phrase “history is written by the winners” rings true. While the origin of many European place names is often well known, I have realised that I don’t know the Māori narratives behind many of these places, except by doing my own research. This seems such a pity. Wouldn’t it be so lovely if Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu were in common use rather than the unimaginative “North Island” and “South Island”?

This lack of acknowledgement extends to important historical events and is something I had thought about in the marking of the ANZAC centenary last year. While World War I is undeniably a very significant part of New Zealand’s history, it strikes me as odd that the New Zealand Land Wars remain unacknowledged in shaping our national heritage. Surely as a nation with a bicultural identity we should be making more effort to commemorate and acknowledge such a significant part of our history?

Biases and discrimination exist everywhere and while it seems that there are bigger issues at hand in New Zealand, such as our horrific statistics of family violence, we also know that injustice and inequality are fuelled by the quashing of identity and culture. In the last few days I have read and reread an interview by Andrew Judd, the Mayor of New Plymouth, in which he details the public outrage he has faced in trying to establish a Māori Ward for his area. I live in a fairly liberal bubble of university-educated friends who work for NGOs, and reading his article reminds me of how much inequality still exists and how far we still have to go as a country. Learning Te Reo certainly isn’t going to fix any problems per se, but for me it feels like the best thing I can do to support a really important progression in Aorearoa.

Published in Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 205, June 2016: 26.