A New Dawn of Learners and Speakers of Māori

For the first time in history, the number of people learning te reo Māori in Aotearoa has surpassed the number of speakers who ever existed before colonisation. This is not just a milestone, it is a testament to the resilience, determination, and collective effort of Māori and all New Zealanders who have embraced the language as a living, breathing taonga. At the beginning of the 19th century, te reo Māori was the predominant language of Aotearoa. The Māori population at that time was estimated between 50,000 and 100,000, and the vast majority spoke Māori as their first language. Colonisation brought policies and systems that suppressed the language, disrupting its natural transmission between generations. By the 1980s, fewer than 20% of Māori spoke te reo well enough to be considered native speakers. The language was marginalised, and for many, access to it was systematically restricted. Tārake author Michelle Bartlett (Is It Time to Reframe How We Talk About Te Reo Māori?) reminds us that te reo Māori was never lost. Colonisation attempted to take it - but we carried, protected, and passed it down. And now, a tide has turned. As of 2025, over 266,000 students are involved in Māori language learning in English Medium schools. This number alone exceeds the estimated total number of Māori speakers before colonisation. When we include adult learners, those in kura kaupapa, and others learning outside the school system, the total number of learners is even higher. This means that today, there are more people learning te reo Māori than there were speakers at any point before colonisation. This is a powerful shift. It signals a future where te reo Māori is not just surviving, but thriving. It is a future where the language is no longer confined to the margins but is instead a vibrant part of Aotearoa’s identity. The revitalisation of te reo Māori is a story of reclamation. It is about whānau, communities, and schools restoring the language to its rightful place. It is about children growing up hearing and speaking te reo, about workplaces embracing bilingual practices, and about the restoration of ancestral names and knowledge. Every new speaker adds another voice to a language that has never stopped living. But this revitalisation is also about more than numbers. It is about reclaiming the narrative. As Bartlett also reflected, the language we use to describe the past shapes how we understand it. Terms like "language loss" and "language trauma" have helped us articulate the deep impacts of colonial policies on te reo Māori. But perhaps it is time to shift our focus toward words that reflect truth, resilience, and possibility. Te reo Māori was not lost: it was suppressed. And now, it is being restored to its prior normalcy. The story of te reo Māori is no longer just about the impacts of the past. It is about the hope of the future. It is about a language that was carried through generations, despite all odds, and is now being embraced by more learners than ever before. This is a story of strength, of determination, and of a collective that sees te reo Māori as its identity. The future of te reo Māori is bright. And it is being written by every learner, every speaker, and every whānau that chooses to embrace it.