9 September 2018

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

“Kia Kaha te Reo Māori” – koirā te kaupapa o te wiki o te reo Māori i tēnei tau o 2018, arā, 10–16 o Mahuru.  E tino tautoko ana a McCaw Lewis i tērā kaupapa.

I te 14 o Mahuru i te tau 1972, ka tukuna e ngā tini me ngā mano tētahi petihana ki te Pāremata ki te whakatū i tō tātou reo rangatira Māori, engari ka whawhai tonu tātou.  Ko McCaw Lewis tētahi o ngā kamupene e whawhai tonu ana mō tō tātou reo, ā, e hiahia ana mātou ki te whakapakari ake i tō mātou reo, me tō mātou mōhiotanga o ngā tikanga Māori, o te ao Māori hoki.

Mō te wā roa e mahi ana a McCaw Lewis i te taha o Ngāi Māori mā – kei mua i te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tīriti o Waitangi, kei mua i te Kooti Whenua Māori, i te taha o ngā iwi mō ngā whakatau take e pā ana ki te Tīriti me ngā mahi pākihi hoki.

Ko te whakaaro nui mō ērā mahi ki te hāpai i ngā kiritaki kia whiwhia e rātou o rātou whāinga, ā, ko te nuinga o te wā ka mahi a McCaw Lewis i te reo Pākehā.  Heoi anō, ka puta te tūmanako ki te whakapiki ake i tō mātou reo Māori.  He tokomaha ngā tauira o te kamupene nei kei te whakapiki ake i tō mātou reo, arā:

• Mō ngā tau maha, ia marama ka whakatū a McCaw Lewis i tētahi hāora Māoritanga.  I taua wā ka kai mātou, me te ako i ngā mea Māori, arā, ngā waiata me ngā kaupapa e hiahia ana ngā kaimahi ki te ako e pā ana ki te ao Māori.  I te tīmatanga ko te nuinga he kanohi Māori, heoi anō, ka taka te wā, ka haere mai ētahi atu ki te ako me te tautoko i te kaupapa;
• I tēnei tau, nā te hāpai a Wairangi Jones, ka whakatū a McCaw Lewis ētahi karaehe ki te ako i te reo.  I reira i akona e ngā kaimahi ētahi waiata, mihi, whaikōrero, pao, me ngā pūrākau.  Ehara i te mea, me matua tutuki e ngā kaimahi katoa ēnei akoranga, engari ko  te nuinga kei te whakapiki ake i tō mātou mōhiotanga o te ao Māori –
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/106128592/waikato-law-firm-learns-te-reo-mori;
• I tēnei wiki o te reo Māori ka whakatū a McCaw Lewis i tētahi hui whakanui i te wiki o te reo Māori.  Ā tāua wā, ka whakarite he hākari, ā, ka whakarite hoki ētahi kēmu e pā ana ki te reo Māori.

Mō te wā roa e mahi ana a McCaw Lewis i te taha o Ngāi Māori mā, heoi anō, nā te whakaaro o ētahi o te kamupene nei ka puta ētahi huarahi mō ngā kaimahi ki te uru ki roto i te ao Māori, ngā mea Pākehā mai, Māori mai, mōhio mai, kāore i te mōhio mai.  Heoi anō, ahakoa te aha, ka piri kau a McCaw Lewis ki tērā whakaaro nui te mana, “Kia Kaha te Reo Māori”.

“Kia Kaha te Reo Māori” – that is this years theme for Māori language week (10–16 September 2018), a kaupapa McCaw Lewis is proud to support.

On 14 September 1972, a large gathering presented a petition on the Māori language to Parliament, yet the fight to elevate the Māori language continues.  McCaw Lewis is one of a number of companies who are taking up the challenge to elevate the language, including improving our reo and knowledge of tikanga Māori, as well as things in the Māori world.

For a long time McCaw Lewis has worked alongside Māori – before the Waitangi Tribunal, before the Māori Land Court, assisting iwi in settlement negotiations as well as assisting Māori commercial clients.

McCaw Lewis’ main goal is to help clients achieve their desired outcomes, and, in the main, this work is completed in English.  However, there is a strong aspiration within the firm to improve staff comprehension of the Māori language.  A number of people within the firm are keen to increase their fluency in te reo Māori:

• For a number of years the firm has held a cultural hour every month.  There, the staff eat together and learn about Māori culture, including waiata and other topics staff have questions about within the Māori world.  At the beginning the majority of attendees were Māori, however over time a number of staff across the firm have attended to support and learn;
• This year, with the help of Wairangi Jones, McCaw Lewis have begun classes to learn te reo Māori.  At those classes participants learn songs, greetings, formal speeches and stories.  Although it is not compulsory, a number of staff have chosen to attend to increase their knowledge of the Māori world –
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/106128592/waikato-law-firm-learns-te-reo-mori
• This Māori language week McCaw Lewis are planning a celebration to support the week.  This includes organising a feast and some games in te reo Māori.

For a long time McCaw Lewis has worked alongside Māori organisations, however as a result of the vision and work of those within the firm a number of avenues have been made available for all staff to learn about the Māori world view, be they Pākehā, Māori, knowledgeable in te ao Māori or otherwise.  However, one thing is clear; McCaw Lewis are keen to support this years theme of Māori language week, “Kia Kaha te Reo Māori”.