Hei whakanui i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022, ka whakaputaina he rārangi kōrero e pā ana ki ō mātou kaimahi Pirihimana e whai mōhiotanga ki te reo Māori me te ao Māori. Scroll down or click here for the English translation.
I tīmata a Samantha (Sam) Julian, he Kaiwhitiwhiti nō te Whare Whitiwhiti Kōrero Mate Ohorere ki te ako i te reo Māori me te ao Māori i muri i tana hokinga mai i Ahitereiria.
I whāia he marae ki Whakatiki, te kura pō rūmaki hoki ki reira. I whāia hoki ngā whakaaroranga ā-tipuranga i roto o Te Punenga ki Pūrehuroa e kīia nei ko Toro Mai.
Kua tau a Sam, he kaiako o mua, ki tana tūranga Pirihimana ki Waitaha - me tana tino harikoa e taea e ia te ako tonu me te tautoko o Ngā Pirihimana.
“I tino hīkaka ahau ki te wehe atu i Ahitereiria, ki aku whakaaro, kāore i te pērā rawa te arohia o te ahurea taketake.
I aku mahi kaiako, i whai wāhi au ki ngā kaiako reo Māori i ngā kura, te kapa haka, hanga rauemi ako mā ngā kaimahi, ngā rauemi reo/tikanga mō te kura, he whakaako hoki i ngā kaimahi ki te mihi.
He uaua i ōna wā mō te wahine Pākehā, otirā he uaua ki roto i tētahi Kura Tuarua Tamatāne, he Katorika anō hoki, me ngā kaimahi kāore i te pērā rawa tā rātou akiaki i te whakamahinga o te reo, he panonitanga noa rānei.
He maha ngā āheinga kia whakamahia e ia ōna pūkenga reo ki roto i Ngā Pirihimana. “Nōku e uia ana i Ngā Pirihimana, i mōhio au ki taku mihi, ā, i tonoa ahau ki te tuku karakia ki te Police Women’s Leadership Summit Conference.”
I ako a Sam mā te kaupapa o Te Ataarangi, ka noho rūmaki ako i te tikanga, ngā uara, me te reo Māori.
Ko tāna mahi i ōna rā whakatā, he rangahau me pēhea e nui atu ai tana uru ki te reo me te ao Māori ki roto o Ōtautahi.
Kei te ako hoki ia mai i ngā pukapuka o Scotty Morrison - Māori Made Easy - he mea hoatu e Ngā Pirihimana - me kore noa e whai āheinga ako kia nui atu ai te hāngai ki ngā mahi me ngā uara o Ngā Pirihimana.
Hei tāna “ahakoa kāore anō kia whakamanahia ahau, kei te hātepe kimi ika tauhou hōu kē ahau, ā, e tino hīkaka ana ki te pito mata o taku ara reo Māori ki tua.”
Tāriana Kairapuhara Tony Colby ki te Teihana Pirihimana i Rotorua.
Ki roto o Rotorua, i tīmata tā Tāriana Kairapuhara Tony Colbey ara reo Māori nōna e whitu tōna pakeke, i te wā i hūnuku ōna mātua ki tētahi hapori Māori iti i Te Taitokerau.
Hei tāna, “ahakoa i noho maitai te ahurea me te reo Māori i tō mātou whānau Pākehā, i whai wāhi atu mātou ki te hapori, me te aha, i whakatōkia te kakano o te reo Māori.
Kei te haere ia ki ngā kura pō utukore, ā, i tērā tau i tutuki i a ia te Pae 3, 4 hoki o Te Pōkaitara ki Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
“Ko tētahi āhuatanga i noho hei papa mōku me te whakaū i ngā whakaakoranga ko te mōhio ki te tangata hei kōrerorero i ngā mahi o ia rā, ko te parakitihi tonu.
Kua ora ahau i te ako i te reo, ā, kua kitea ehara i te mea me matatau koe e whakamanahia te ahurea, kia nui atu ai te whai wāhi atu ki te tangata hoki.
Ināianei, ehara i te mea me tatari rawa ki ngā whakapākehātanga mō te mātakitaki i te matapae huarere - kua mōhio kē ahau mehemea ka whiti te rā.
Two different journeys
For Māori Language Week – learning through immersion, in language and culture.
Sam (left) with good friend and mentor Marina Tamarua who has been instrumental to her Te Ao Maori journey. Haere ana mo te hikoi - Te Whiti Riser, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
To mark Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/Māori Language Week 2022, Ten One is running a series of stories about how Police staff are seeking a better understanding of te reo and te ao Māori.
Samantha (Sam) Julian, a Communicator/Dispatcher in Southern Emergency Communications Centre, began her te reo and te ao Māori journey after returning from Australia.
She found a local marae in Upper Hutt which offered full immersion evening classes. She also found self-taught online classes, through Massey University, called Toro Mai.
Sam, a former teacher, is now settled into her Police role in Canterbury – and is very pleased that she has been able to continue with her learning with Police’s support.
“I was glad to leave Australia, where I think the indigenous culture is not always valued.
“As a kaiako (teacher), I became involved with educators of te reo Māori in schools, kapa haka, creating staff resources for learning, te reo/tikanga resources for the kura (school) and teaching mihi to staff.
“This was a challenge at times as a wahine Pākehā, especially working in an all-boys Catholic High School with senior colleagues who were not always encouraging of the use of Māori language, or change generally.”
She has found many opportunities to use her language skills within Police. “I knew my mihi when being interviewed for promotion at Police and was asked to give the karakia in a recent Police Women’s Leadership Summit Conference.”
Sam’s learning has followed the Te Ataarangi method of total immersion and teaching of Māori customs and values alongside te reo.
Her days off consist of her own research to find out where she can immerse herself further in te reo and te ao Māori in Christchurch.
She is also studying Māori Made Easy books by Scotty Morrison – provided by Police - and hopes the organisation will give her the opportunity for further study to align more with mahi and Police values.
“Although I’m non-sworn, I am in the recruitment process and am very much looking forward to what's possible for my te ao Māori journey in the future,” she says.
Detective Sergeant Tony Colby at Rotorua Police Station.
In Rotorua, Detective Sergeant Tony Colby’s te reo journey started when he was seven years old and his parents moved to a small Māori community in Northland.
“Even though the Māori culture and language were quite foreign to us as a Pākehā whānau, we became immersed in the local community and the te reo seed was planted,” he says.
He has been attending free evening classes and last year completed Level 3 and 4 Te Pōkaitahi Reo certificates at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
“One of the biggest things that helped me build on and cement the classroom learning was knowing people I could kōrero with about the simple everyday things in life. Being able to parakitihi tonu - keep practising.
“Learning te reo has been personally enriching, and I have found that you don’t need to be fluent to show respect and create more meaningful engagement with people on a personal level.
“Now I don’t need to wait for the English translations when I am watching the weather on TV - I already know if it is going to be a sunny day.”