Ko Te Wā o te Reo Time to Tackle te Reo

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is from September 14 to 21. Tracey Cooper sat down with Pipiwharauroa Campbell (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti He, Ngāti Pūkenga) to talk about his life and his role as pou ahurea—national Māori lead for Addictions, Supportive Housing and Reintegration Services (ASARS) and championing te reo Māori in Te Ope Whakaora (The Salvation Army).

Pipiwharauroa is a native and fluent speaker of te reo Māori and uses every opportunity to promote and normalise the use of te reo Māori within the Army. He says incorporating more te reo throughout Te Ope Whakaora is a key focus during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, and he’s encouraging everyone to have a go, no matter how much—or how little—you know.

‘You’ve got to start somewhere,’ he says. ‘Some people say it might be a bit tokenistic, but my belief is that once you’ve started, the more it gets used, the less tokenistic it will feel.’

Bridging two worlds

He knows from experience how easy it can be to turn away from your language and culture when it’s not supported. He reflects on his previous experiences in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

‘My focus is on normalising te ao Māori (the Māori world) and growing Māori in this space, so people don’t feel like I did in the Navy at that time, where it was not cool to be Māori.’

That feeling saw him move away from the Māori world he grew up in.

‘I did Kōhanga Reo, full immersion, then bilingual and then I went to Te Aute College. I left Te Aute proud to be Māori. But in the Navy, electrical engineering is predominantly older white males, so I stopped speaking te reo; and my last name is Campbell, so I just sort of hid there in the background.’

After 10 years, he decided to reembrace te ao Māori—initially as the Navy marae coordinator—before joining Te Ope Whakaora about three years ago, as the sole pou ahurea, or cultural advisor.

‘I guess the good thing is that my engineering career in the Navy gave me a structured outlook and helped me work in a predominantly Pākehā space, trying to advocate for Māori. Taking a structured approach makes it easier for non-Māori organisations to understand Māori initiatives,’ he says.

‘Most of the time in these roles you’re the only Māori voice on the board, and it’s not necessarily a position of authority, it’s more a position of influence. You’ve got to be able to influence others to gain their support.’

Strengthening representation

He’s clearly been successful in his mahi (work), as we’ve come a long way in three years.

‘When I first came to ASARS it was just me. Now, including myself, we’ve got six pou ahurea across the motu (land) and they’ve been able to embed different kaupapa Māori within their rohe (areas).’

He says that those pou ahurea will play an imporant role during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. ‘The pou ahurea will do a kaitahi (shared meal), a little educational piece and I’ll do the same for the national office, but if the places don’t have that resource, it’s a bit tough.

‘At Matariki we made Māori kites and another year we went on a tour with Ngāti Whātua, who took us around Tāmaki so everyone could see the importance of landmarks. And there are always a few Treaty things, which is good because they reframe the importance of our work.’

And while progress has been encouraging, there’s still work to be done.

‘We recently had an external Māori auditor come in and we scored really well. In my opinion, we do good mahi for Māori, and we’ve come a long way in three years, but we can do better.’

During Te Wiki o te Reo Māori we can try and do just that!

For Te Wiki o te Reo Māori resources, visit reomaori.co.nz/te-wiki-o-te-reo-maori-2024