Before COVID-19, my colleagues Dr. Maureen Muller and Tai Ahu and I conducted research for Te M膩t膩wai focusing on factors that enable and inhibit M膩ori from learning and using te reo M膩ori.

More than 1000 participants responded to our survey, and 57 M膩ori were interviewed across Aotearoa. From those who had not yet begun learning through to those with conversational proficiency, the main barriers were consistent: feeling whakam膩 about their language use, not having enough people to speak with, and having limited time and resources.

One of the things ancestral language learners (those with whakapapa M膩ori learning te reo) commonly express is that, through the process of engaging in te reo M膩ori, a high level of emotional vulnerability is experienced.

M膩ori language engagement tends to re-open discussions around why a learner might be in a position where they are needing to formally engage in ancestral language learning, as opposed to learning through intergenerational transmission. Within this process of enquiry, we start to reflect on our own wh膩nau histories of language loss, which are inextricably intertwined with the violent dispossession from our iwi lands, resources, and cultural identities.

Language dispossession directed at M膩ori was an intentional process of colonization. State-sanctioned child abuse in schools imposed upon M膩ori children for speaking our language, even when they knew no other, aided the speed of dispossession (see Waitangi Tribunal reports, WAI 11, WAI 262).

Why is it important for us to know about the impacts of colonization on te reo M膩ori? Partly, because it impacts on indigenous lives.

Indigenous lives are where indigenous languages are derived from. In the process of reclaiming our reo M膩ori, M膩ori are often reclaiming other parts of ourselves and our identities, which is why it can take us multiple attempts to even enroll in a course, let alone afford the time away from work or wh膩nau in order to attend courses.

In our study, parents were the most likely group to indicate that managing wh膩nau commitments was a considerable barrier to language acquisition. If we are thinking that te k膩inga (the home) is where our language is going to be revitalized, we need to seriously consider how wh膩nau are supported to reclaim te reo M膩ori.

For many M膩ori who are pre-language-learners, borrowing from the translated whakatauk墨 "Do the mahi, get the treats," in our current context "doing the mahi" can almost be equated with "the treat."

Having the time, financial resources and emotional availability to attend to pre-empted and/or unanticipated trauma that occurs through the process of formal ancestral language acquisition is a privilege, hence language learning becoming a luxury item for many M膩ori.

When M膩ori participants in our study said they don't have time to formally learn te reo M膩ori, they are not over-stating the matter. The 2018 Census indicates that M膩ori median incomes (both men and women combined) were $24,300, compared with P膩keh膩, whose median income was $34,100.

M膩ori women in particular carry high loads for unpaid labor. Despite this inequality and the lack of disposable income, M膩ori are proportionately more likely to be engaged in some type of formal education. As indigenous people, we are not only in a process of language revitalisation, we are also dealing with the ongoing structural impacts of colonial harm, which costs us our time.

As a M膩ori-speaking parent, I want my kids to be able to get a dental check-up and have their dentist explain themselves in M膩ori, rather than having their parents translate the outside world. I want them to be able to see te reo M膩ori reflected to them in society, viewing their ancestral language as normal and themselves as normal in doing so.

Shifts towards language normalization require care and attention as to how we achieve this goal. Language classes across Aotearoa have seen increases in student numbers, in particular among P膩keh膩 students.

With the rise in P膩keh膩 participation in M膩ori language classes, issues of positionality are an important consideration. Being able to learn te reo M膩ori without having to address colonial trauma or having your language skills equated with your validity as a cultural in-group member is a privilege that P膩keh膩 students do not have to deal with鈥攖hey can merely dive straight into "the treats."

Normalization of te reo requires more M膩ori spoken everywhere, which requires te reo M膩ori to be accessible to all. The challenge for M膩ori language educators is that in the reclamation of our language and cultural identity, we need to make room for the emotional loads disproportionately carried by our M膩ori students. This means M膩ori-centered learning that holds space for the unpacking of traumatic histories.

There are significant inequalities that exist within our own M膩ori communities about who has access to te reo M膩ori and who does not, which is why adding P膩keh膩 learners into the conversation is complicated.

The colonial history of Aotearoa and its devastating impacts are part of the reason not all M膩ori are supportive of Lorde's new album. But that's another conversation.