Biographies
Some of the key people and organisations who made these changes happen are featured here. There have been hundreds more.
Individuals
Dr Huirangi Waikerepuru
The Māori language Treaty claim leader.
Dame Naida Glavish
The ‘kia ora lady’.
Dame Kāterina Mataira
A creative artist, writer and teacher; a founder of Te Ataarangi.
Emeritus Professor Ray Harlow
An academic who treasures te reo Māori.
Dr Cathy Dewes
A woman with a vision and the determination to put it into practice.
Sir James Henare
A rangatira whose leadership and words continue to inspire.
Matiu Rata
A practical politician who established the Waitangi Tribunal and laid the foundations for the revitalisation of te reo Māori.
Dr Wharehuia Milroy
A leader in the revitalisation of te reo Māori, and an upholder of Māori language standards.
Mīria Simpson
An expert in two languages who was determined to uphold the highest standards in both.
Professor Whatarangi Winiata
A scholar who planned and oversaw the revitalisation of te reo Māori in his iwi and his community.
Dr Richard Benton
A Pākehā scholar and researcher who sounded the alarm in the 1970s about the rapid loss of the Māori language even in places where it had once been strong.
Piripi Walker
A determined organiser and activist who coordinated the WAI11 claim and later court cases, and led the establishment of the first Māori-language radio station.
Sir Tīmoti Kāretu
A teacher, leader, exponent of the spoken and performance arts, and language expert who was determined that the Māori language would be maintained in its full depth and quality.
Dr Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi
A staunch advocate for te reo Māori over many decades; a founder of the kōhanga reo movement.
Ngoi Pēwhairangi
An exponent of Māori performing arts and a composer who left us the ‘anthem of the Māori language’, the inspirational waiata ‘Whakarongo’, heard wherever Māori language is used or learned.
Organisations
Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te Reo
The organisation that took the WAI11 Māori language claim to the Waitangi Tribunal.
New Zealand Māori Council
The New Zealand Māori Council was intended to be the peak national body for Māori organisations.
Ngā Tamatoa and Te Reo Māori Society
The activist group Ngā Tamatoa (The Young Warriors) was formed in 1970. It brought a new and radical edge to Māori protest in its calls for the Treaty of Waitangi to be ratified.
Parliament and the Waitangi Tribunal
Parliament has been the focus of much of the effort to revitalise the Māori language. To obtain official status and associated recognition for te reo, legislation was needed.
New Zealand Council for Educational Research
The NZCER was set up in 1934 and since 1945 has operated under an Act of Parliament. It does educational research and provides independent information, advice, and assistance.
Government Departments involved in WAI11
Ministry of Justice, State Services Commission, Ministry of Education and Te Puni Kōkiri.
Te Reo Māori agencies
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Te Mātāwai.
Broadcasting organisations
Until the 1980s the Crown owned virtually all broadcasting (radio and television) assets in New Zealand.