Most importantly, I feel as Pakeha I have a responsibility to participate in keeping Te Reo alive and to acknowledge the rightful holders of this land and the history and impact that colonisation still has on this country, and Maori.
Secondly, Te Reo Maori is a beautiful language, and through my learning of it, I have been invited into a brand new world! I love seeing the world through the eyes of Te Ao Maori. And my motivations haven't just been through social responsibility, but familial. My wife is re-connecting with her whakapapa, after her family was discouraged from speaking Te Reo, or affiliating themselves with their culture in any way. Her generation is the first to reclaim their identity and I am on that journey with her! And now, our son, who is both Nga Puhi through my wife, and Ngai Tahu through our donor, so our journey is so enriched right now! It's really exciting.
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