Māori Language Commissioner Honours Rūātoki Roots for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Writing for The Spinoff on Monday, Māori Language Commissioner Rawinia Higgins shared a personal reflection on the vital role small-town communities play in language revitalisation. To mark the launch of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2026, which carries the theme of 'te reo towns', Higgins recounted her journey from an English-speaking home in Wellington to the Tūhoe heartland of Rūātoki. In 1985, at the age of 11, Higgins moved to Rūātoki to attend its local school, which had become the first officially recognised bilingual school in Aotearoa in 1978. She described the experience as a "baptism of fire," beginning in a remedial class for the Māori language despite it being her mother's native tongue. Under the guidance of teachers like Koro Whitu McGarvey, Tāwhiri Williams, and Kaa Williams, she was able to reclaim the cultural richness she felt she had been missing. Higgins credits the Rūātoki community for creating an environment where te reo Māori was not just an academic subject, but the natural language of everyday life. She noted that these communities built kōhanga and kura to ensure future generations would never feel the detachment from their culture that many Māori faced in urban centres. The commitment of these locals ensured that the language lived in both hearts and homes. As the Māori Language Commissioner, Higgins emphasised that this year's theme pays homage to the strength of these communities. She argued that the survival of indigenous languages is often shaped by the opportunity for people to live and work in their own reo, rather than just a matter of individual choice. Through the lens of her own upbringing, Higgins highlights how these 'te reo towns' remain the backbone of the Māori language's enduring presence.