“I made sure that I never took what I had for granted. I learned to appreciate and value all that my father and my family had instilled into me about my culture. And I worked to ensure my children were all brought up learning who they are, and learning the values of their culture. “And that was achieved by persistence, hard work, and never giving up despite the world we live in and all the challenges it throws at us. “They say it takes a generation to lose the language, but it takes three generations to revitalise it. My family is one of the lucky ones. We have almost four generations of te reo Māori speakers in our family. My goal in life before I leave this earth is that those teachings will funnel down to the next three generations after my children. Then I’ll know that my job as a parent has been fulfilled.” - Eli Smith
Te Tai Tokerau | Northland | Whangārei | 2010-19 | Story is by tangata whenua
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