Language tells the stories of humanity, and these are the stories of te reo. These are the stories of Aotearoa.

The struggle for the survival of te reo Māori is told on the Stories of te Reo website. It is the first time a timeline of this sort has charted the pivotal moments in the assaults on and revitalisation of our indigenous language. 

We know the timeline only tells part of the story; we need your help to complete it. So, we are inviting all New Zealanders to share their stories, their memories and the actions they have and are taking to ensure its survival as a unique part of our national identity. 

Contribute your story. See tips for sharing your story.



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The Māori Language in Russell, Ngaiotonga and Punaruku

The Māori Language in Waitara

The Māori Language in Whakatane

Araraurangi | Air New Zealand ko te reo kia rere

Araraurangi | Air New Zealand Tohu reo pin

Korihi te manu - Stories of whāngai and adoption

The Wanganui Awa

Araraurangi - Tohu Reo Whakanuia

Tiaki & The Guardians

Learning te reo

A Kaiako who left an impression

"Mainstream schools will teach you your ABC’s, sure, but kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori will teach you who you are"

Never forget where you come from

Te Kōtuku Rerenga Tahi

For my daughter

Tamariki successful putting the Ō in Ōmokoroa

“It's a kaupapa that is for, and will always be for, our kids.”

It's a Māori story entirely in te reo Māori from the beginning to the end

It’s about whakamana i te reo Maori.

"We don’t really like just translating the words. Otherwise, we may as well just make an audiobook."

Whānau - biggest tautoko, biggest critics

The thought of having to karanga scares the bejesus out of me

Māori language was considered radical.

I was shit-scared about the pōwhiri.

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"He kura kāmehameha te reo Māori, engari me ora hoki ngā mita ā-iwi."

Sometimes it’s like the knot has travelled up through my wooden insides and lodged in my throat.

My complicated relationship with te reo Māori

“If I had to visualise what I think learning te reo looks like, to me it’s a relay."

"It’s hard but the only way to get better is to keep trying"

First episode of Waka Huia 1987 is about the survival of te reo

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"Ko te reo te mea nui. Ko te reo e tūhonohono ai he tāngata."

"It’s hard but the only way to get better is to keep trying"

“The only way our language will survive is by normalising it in everyday life."

Reo Māori Mai came from a passion to revitalise te reo Māori.

Selwyn Muru rāua ko Whina Cooper - Te Rōpū Matakite

Rua Cooper - kaumātua o Waikato

What is the role of Pākehā in supporting te reo Māori?

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"Kāore mātou i mātaki "Simpsons" i a mātou e tamariki ana. Ko te Karere te tino hōtaka!

"We’ve been a part of what we call the quiet revolution. And all because we were determined to have a reo Māori speaking family."

I feel like I am doing something, not just for myself but it's for the people.

Ko Mariam Arif tōku ingoa - nō te Rāwhiti Waenganui ahau, no te ao Aripi

The former politician held the Te Tai Hauāuru Māori seat for 12 years and was co-leader of the Māori Party before retiring in 2014.

Hammond believes that Rēkohu Wharekauri confront 10 times the problems of those in the North Island experience.

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Ko te Whare Kaukau o Pukekohe kua tīmata ki te whakaako i ngā tamariki kōhungahunga ki te kauhoe i roto i te reo Māori

My pepeha is my world - Tainui Stephens

"She felt I was condemning myself to a second-rate life, because she knew the lash of racism."

I rangona te kerēme reo Māori (WAI11) ki te Herenga Waka Marae, me Waiwhetū Marae.

Mōhio rānei koe ki te Te Rōpū Reo Māori?

"I didn’t understand a single word of what we were singing. But it felt so good. I knew then, in the back row of the varsity kapa haka, that my life had changed forever."

Irish Embassy commissions play about colonisation in te reo

It’s like watching a wondrous putiputi blooming right in front of my eyes.

When it comes to his use of te reo Māori, Ruha draws on the vernacular of his hometown of Te Tairāwhiti

Sovereignty in streaming: A new forever home for Māori content

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Te Rūnanga Nui ō Ngā KKM file urgent claim to Tribunal

"I’d like to think that our generation, those of us of the te reo Māori Society… will be remembered as those who tried to do something about the state of the language to put in place programmes which have been helpful.”

In 1971, Dr Nicholson was an 18-year-old Victoria University student when he became the media publicist for the Māori Language Petition, which over 30,000 people signed in support of te reo Māori being taught in schools.

Tahu-Pōtiki: Reo Māori Journey

Ensuring access to Te Ao Māori

Ngahiwi Apanui: Don't tell me te reo is a waste of time

Ngahiwi Apanui - Don't tell me te reo is a waste of time

Ngahiwi Apanui: Don't tell me te reo is a waste of time

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Two generations discuss their journeys with te reo Māori

Te reo in Ōtaki: 'This whole place is Māori'

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Learning te reo at 61

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Moe Milne - He Mumu Reo

It's official - Rotorua is New Zealand's first bilingual city

Karanga - A call from the heart

Karanga – A call from the heart

"It's never too late to learn"

The Māori Language in Hikurangi, Whananaki and the Mangakahia Valley

The Māori Language in Wellington and the Hutt Valley

The Māori Language in Eastern Hokianga

The Māori Language from Herewini to Pawarenga

The Māori Language in Kaitaia and neighbouring communities

The Māori Language in rural Whangaroa

The Māori Language Kaeo and Oamaunu

The Māori Language in Panguru and Rangi Point

The Māori Language in Te Hapua, Te Kao and Ngataki

The Māori Language in North West Bay of Islands

The Māori Language in South West Bay of Islands

The Māori Language in Pipiwai

The Māori Language in Kawakawa

The Māori Language in Karetu

The Māori Language in Waitangi

The Māori Language in Moerewa and districts

The Māori Language in Waiomio

The Māori Language in Kaikohe

The Māori Language in Waihaha

The Māori Language Te Tii, Wharengaere and Kerikeri

The Māori Language Motatau, Opahi and Taikirau

The Māori Language in Whangarei and district

The Māori Language in Matawaia

The Māori Language from Bombay to Mercer

The Māori Language in the Central Auckland area

The Māori Language in Manurewa

The Maori Language in Pakuranga, Howick and Umupuia

The Māori Language Henderson, New Lynn and Districts

The Māori Language Henderson, New Lynn and Districts