Each brings their own stories, values and uniqueness to their roles. As we celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, we spoke to two of our kaimahi who are not just proudly Māori, but actively share their tīkanga and love of reo to our wider whānau:

Ariana Williams
(Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)

Kia ora, my name is Ariana Williams.

I am a Kapa Haka Tutor and Marae Administration Support.

I have been working at Te Whare o Wananga (Unitec) since 2019 and joined the MAIA team in June.

I whakapapa to Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, but I also have Fijian, Samoan and Pākehā whakapapa.

Reclaiming te reo Māori has been a journey impacting many generations of my whānau. I am Māori through both of my grandmothers. Colonisation meant neither of them grew up speaking te reo Māori, society didn’t see its value and shamed them.

My parents had similar experiences but wanted a different pathway for myself and my brother. We went to Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Māori, fully immersed in te reo Māori me ōna tīkanga. It was our first language. So, my te reo Māori journey has been one of pain as I acknowledge the loss of generations before me and liberation as I claim back te reo Māori for my whakapapa.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is important because it is an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with te reo Māori and te ao Māori. We get to celebrate our reo, be creative, learn kupu hou, share kai and have fun together. It gives back to our hauora and well-being as a nation. Every week is a week to celebrate our language so kia kaha te kōrero Māori!

I love being Māori. And I am especially proud that in my role at Unitec I get to share our worldview and hononga taiao, hononga tangata - connection to our environment and people which is expressed through our reo and tikanga.

Tonina Ngatai
(Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa)

My name is Tonina Ngatai.

I am an Academic Maori Development Lecturer with the MAIA team.

My role is to support our Māori ākonga in their studies as a learning advisor. I also work as a learning facilitator at the Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki.

I whakapapa to Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa and originally from Rotorua.

Although I have only been in the role for only four weeks, my connection to Unitec goes back more than a decade.

I studied here back in 2013, completing a Diploma in Contemporary Music. I then did a Bachelor of Creative Enterprise in the School of Creative Industries. In April this year, I completed my Master of Creative Practice. I have also worked within the Marae team as a Kaimanaaki at the Wharekai.

My reo journey started back in 2001 at He Kainga Mo Te Reo in Rotorua. I was studying at Toi Ohomai at the time and one of these Koroua (elders) asked me if I knew how to speak Māori and after I told him I couldn’t, he said you need to learn your reo. And I said OK!

I've just recently returned to my reo journey again after many years and it's beautiful.

I wasn’t brought up in reo at all. I missed the Kohanga Reo generation and it wasn’t really offered in my high school years.

I am a mother of eight now. Instinctively, I knew I wanted my own kids to go through Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa, and all the things I had missed out on. I’m so glad I went down that pathway for them because I see they know exactly who they are and where they come from. They are strong individuals but whānau connected as well.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is important because it gives us a chance to put ourselves out there as Māori not just in the reo, but mahi toi, our creativity, and helps to elevate who we really are, and being able to share that with others. This week, we acknowledge that but it should be every day.

My whakapapa (genealogy), my pepeha, my tamariki (children) all make me proud to be Māori. Knowing in Te Ao Māori we are all in the same waka, we all move as one. manaakitanga, aroha, whānau are key components of that makes us who we are, and that fight and fierceness that comes within us.

I am also proud of be a wahine Māori because one of our Kuia, Hinemoa swam across Lake Rotorua and showed her kaha as a wahine to get to her lover, Tūtānekai. And then looking at all the generations of wahine after her being so proud of who they are.

Watch a video of Tonina singing a song ‘Atawhaitia’, which she co-composed, with her whānau.