Nearly three-quarters of the adults stated that they had been punished as children at school for speaking Maori. This did not stop them from teaching the language to their own children, as they will always regard it as a very important part of being Maori. Most of the kaumatua preferred Maori to English as the language of everyday use, especially with their mokopuna. Since Maori was the main language spoken in many homes, no one was worried that it might be lost as a living language in these communities, at least at the time our survey took place.
Te Tai Tokerau | Northland | Far North | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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