Proud to try: Our te reo journey (so far)
With Matariki right around the corner and 2022 being the first year it’s recognised as a public holiday, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the progress we’ve made in recognising Te Reo and Māori as a rightful part of our beautiful Aotearoa.
I want to take this opportunity to celebrate and encourage those taking steps to embrace a journey towards increased understanding of Te Ao Māori and Te Reo Māori.
E taku hoa aroha Anne Fitisemanu from TupuToa, who live in our Yellow whare with us, often tells us incorporating Te Reo is a life journey, where everyone in the team will be at a different stage of this journey. What needs to be recognised is the commitment coming from the head and the heart. Learning from a Te Ao Māori perspective is a whānau collective effort where we lift each other up, those with greater skills supporting those starting out.
Our efforts at Yellow come from the heart and from a place of passion. We do our best to incorporate Te Reo into our organisation, not just on the surface, but on a fundamental level. We want Te Reo to be ingrained into our business and a natural part of our day-to-day. We strive to achieve this both in our books and workplace in a respectful way, and we never take our foot off the pedal.
Of course, we don't always get this right but I believe the journey starts with the right intention, which may not always be fully visible, but is underpinning our efforts. Will we let making mistakes deter us? Absolutely not. Honest mistakes happen when you’re trying something new, when you’re pushed outside of your comfort zone and when you’re stepping into a space of vulnerability. Mistakes happen when you dare to try.
A quote I recite often from Brené Brown, “We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both." And this is a perfect example of that. We cannot have change, without first stepping into fear and discomfort. I strongly encourage other leaders and organisations to not let that fear deter them, to not let in the fear of scrutiny.
And I hope that other organisations and individuals aren’t discouraged by the possibility of making mistakes or being wrong. The fear of mistakes shouldn’t get in the way of incorporating Te Reo into your life. Korero with Te Reo Māori speakers, step into vulnerability and start the mahi now.
Embarking on this journey is an opportunity to learn and play your part in challenging the systems of society. From my own personal experience through incorporating Te Reo into my daily life, through building blessings, pepeha, whakatau and karakia. I have learned so much and this knowledge is priceless and could never have been bought.
Renowned Te Reo Māori advocate Julian Wilcox acknowledges all will make mistakes on their Te Reo journey:
““Henare Kingi, the legendary Māori radio broadcaster gave me one piece of advice. It was “Whakaiti. Whakaiti. Whakaiti.” My interpretation is that “through humility comes humanity.” The nuts and bolts of that mean we’ll all make mistakes learning Te Reo . So we just have to embrace that. Have the humanity to expect it. Have the humility to accept it. And have the confidence to learn from it.””