Ramari Maipi Celebrates Intergenerational Success of Te Reo Māori

On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, Waatea News highlighted the enduring commitment of Ramari Maipi to the survival of te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori. Every morning, Maipi shares the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) with her whānau and friends, a daily practice she describes as essential for keeping tikanga and ancestral knowledge alive within the community. Maipi’s history is deeply rooted in the Māori language revitalisation movement. As the sister of the late Hana Te Hemara, a pivotal figure in the 1972 Māori Language Petition, Maipi was an active member of Ngā Tamatoa alongside her husband, Timi Maipi. The movement was instrumental in challenging the Crown and society on issues of land, culture, and racism, eventually leading to the foundation of kōhanga reo and Māori broadcasting. While Maipi has spent decades working toward fluency, she told Waatea News that her greatest victory lies in the next generations. Although becoming a fluent speaker remains a personal dream for her, she finds immense pride in the fact that her children and mokopuna now speak te reo Māori naturally. This intergenerational transmission represents the ultimate goal of the activism she joined more than fifty years ago. The reporter, Matthew Tukaki, notes that Maipi’s journey reflects the personal cost of language loss experienced by her generation. For many who grew up during the era of assimilation, reclaiming the language was a lifelong struggle. However, by restoring the reo within her own whānau, Maipi ensures that future generations will not have to start their journey from scratch, fulfilling the vision held by the original petitioners of 1972.