Fluent speakers recalled being 'thrashed or strapped' as children for speaking Maori at school. Memories of these punishments and an awareness of the inferior status accorded the language in the larger community, had made them reluctant to teach their own children. Most people interviewed expressed support for the teaching of Maori in schools, and, while stressing the importance of teaching dialectal variants, were pleased with its development in the Wairoa area. Eight informants were themselves involved as language teachers either in schools, on marae or at evening classes.
Te Matau-a-Māui | Hawke’s Bay | Wairoa | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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