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September 14, 2022
Efforts of many led to reo revival
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On September 14, 2022
Download AudioGreens co-leader Marama Davidson says today’s celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Maori Language Petition are a reminder of the many people and especially wahine Maori who fought to ensure their children would have access to te reo Maori.
Speaking to Radio Waatea from this morning’s dawn ceremony at the National Library to open an exhibition marking the campaign, Ms Davidson says she was pleased to see the emphasis on the late Hana Te Hemara, a driving force behind te petihana, which drew 33,000 signatures.
“There were many whose names we don’t know as well and we’ve got to celebrate them all and be grateful for them all and their role and what it has helped to grow, for us to see hau ora te reo Maori, it’s still here, it’s alive, it’s well,” she says.
Marama Davidson says she was proud she is able to attend today’s events with her father, Rawiri Paratene, who was part of the hikoi which delivered the petition to Parliament in 1972.
