"Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori."

The language is the life force of Māori identity.

In 2075, tangata and whānau whaikaha Māori are living te reo Māori every day, in every part of life. Our reo, our voices, and our ways of communicating are ordinary, valued, and woven into homes, marae, schools, workplaces, and community gatherings. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is fully realised across systems, policy, and government.

We are confident, contributing iwi members. We belong in Māori spaces as ourselves — with the same opportunities to speak, learn, and lead. Our ways of communicating are recognised and respected, whether through speech, sign, writing, technology, or other forms. Trilingual interpreters fluent in New Zealand Sign Language, te reo Māori, and English are present and available everywhere they are needed. Support staff are trained, paid, and valued for high-quality tikanga-based practice across marae, health, education, and whānau settings. Whānau are resourced to support each other well, which absolutely includes tangata and whānau whaikaha Māori. Te reo Māori is spoken naturally at home, in our hapori, and everywhere we gather — it is the language of daily life.

Accessible reo use is normal. Resources are offered in all formats — visual, audio, tactile, plain language, and digital — and are well funded. Hui and all education are designed with time, space, and support so participation is real and sustainable for everyone. These practices are embedded in how we host, teach, and learn.

Our whenua is thriving, our awa run clean, our manu and native species are alive and abundant — named, described, and celebrated in te reo Māori.

We honour those who came before us: the trailblazers, the resistors, the whānau who held fast to their reo and identity even when they were not supported to do so. We honour tangata whaikaha Māori who were excluded, who never got to know their reo or whakapapa, but whose lives must be remembered.

In 2025, we are working hard to create change. The environment we’re in is temporary, sometimes difficult, but we keep going. We hold hope. Our mahi is practical, whānau-led, and focused on building systems that reflect who we are as Māori.

We also look ahead to a multilingual, technologically fluent future. Te reo Māori is everywhere — on packaging, signage, public transport, digital platforms, and everywhere. Automatic translation tools make communication seamless across reo, and technology is designed to serve our languages, not replace them. As a people, we are confident in our reo, and everyone in Aotearoa has the right, the skills, and the tools to use their own language alongside te reo Māori. These uncertain times are history.

This message is shared on behalf of Hei Whakapiki Mauri (www.heiwhakapikimauri.org.nz), established in 2016. Hei Whakapiki Mauri, led by Gary Williams and Ruth Jones, supports tangata and whānau whaikaha Māori to live as Māori first. Our kaupapa is to uphold whānau rangatiratanga, whakapapa, and true whānau ora through manaaki, practical systems, advocacy, and collective action.

This is a point in time. In 2075, our vision is that all Māori — including tangata and whānau whaikaha Māori — are economically thriving, culturally strong, and living in systems that reflect our values, as our tīpuna did. Our legacy is not ours alone — it continues through the pūrākau, reo, relationships, and systems we build together.

Toitū te reo. Toitū tangata me whānau whaikaha Māori. Toitū te whenua. Toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi.