Te Petihana Leo Maori Celebrate Milestone at Wellington Exhibition

An exhibition featuring the original Te Petihana Reo Māori (Māori petition) opened at the National Library on Wednesday morning, marking the 50th anniversary of its first presentation to parliament and kicking off celebrations in the capital. .

On 14 September 1972, the Te Leo Maori Society, Nga Tamatoa, and the NZ Maori Student Federation’s Rangatahi (Rangatahi o Aotearoa), who wanted to teach the Te Leo Maori language in all schools, submitted a petition to Parliament. did. Across Aotearoa, he was signed by 30,000, both from Maori and Tauiwi.

Fifty years later, the veterans were joined by more than 100 mana fenua, politicians and langatahi for the ‘Tōku reo, toō ohooho’ exhibition at The Puna Foundation Gallery at the National Library in Wellington. This exhibition features the original petition, along with photographs of key moments in the evolution of the Te Reo Maori into the official language of Aotearoa.

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Tūhoe kaumātua Tame Iti, an artist associated with Ngā Tamatoa in the 1970s and more recently Installed a set of artwork titled I Will Not Speak Māori Regarding Te Wiki o Te Leo Maori, he said that although there had been “amazing” changes in 50 years, people still needed to continue promoting the language.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” he said. “[The public] Hearing about it, seeing the work we do, people are starting to talk about it.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of the language that belongs to them. It can be part of the way we use English, and all languages ​​matter.”

In his speech, Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson said Te Petihana was a “brave and brave campaign” and was delighted to see progress being made across the motu with one million Leo speakers by 2040. said there is.

“This was a petition that came out of a group of people who were under-supported, not just in the Pakeha community, but in our own society,” he said. “It’s not just the Pakkeha language, but the minority people are also putting effort into the language.”

The exhibition runs through December 3rd, with a public event celebrating the anniversary at 11:30 am at the Houses of Parliament.

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