Many of the people interviewed, especially the elderly,
were concerned about the decline in knowledge and use of
Maori in the area. Some of them had been brought up in
households where English was the main, or only, language
spoken, and now that they were parents themselves, they
were sorry they weren't competent teachers of Maori for
their children. Some of the people we spoke to said it
was wrong that most television programmes were in English,
and wanted more and better programmes in Maori and on
Maori subjects. Many of them supported the teaching
of the language in local schools. They thought more
time should be spent on teaching people to speak Maori
in the community, rather than on action songs and haka,
which had words that the children didn't really understand.
Te Moana-ā-Toi | Bay of Plenty | Western Bay of Plenty | 1980-89 | Story is by tangata whenua
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