Scotty's home truths 'I'VE NEVER SPOKEN ENGLISH TO OUR KIDS'

The TV presenter and his wife Stacey are keeping their traditions alive

- Kasia Jillings

Scotty Morrison, 52, is widely regarded as one of the leading advocates of te reo Maori in Aotearoa, S presenting the news for Radio Waatea, Te Karere and Marae in our native language and, alongside his wife Stacey, 50, authoring a raft of popular Māori books.

But while recently filming the second season of Origins, the media stalwart reveals he was astounded to discover new knowledge about his ancestors he'd never before considered. Sitting down with the Weekly, Scotty talks about the highly emotional series, his own learning pathway and his passion for sharing the language with his children, wife and the rest of the country.

Tell us about filming the second series of Origins.

We're tracking the kūmara and how it came to be a staple crop in Aotearoa and a reference point in our development as tāngata whenua [indigenous people]. It takes us to very interesting places like the Marquesas Islands [in French Polynesia]. I've never heard anyone talking about how we connect with them before. It's a really emotional journey.

Can you expand more on how that felt?

Being in places where my ancestors have been and walking in their footsteps is highly emotional. It's also realising how connected we are. In the Marquesas Islands, one of their tattoo experts recited his whakapapa [genealogy] with the same names and same line as ours. We share tūpuna [ancestors]. A similar thing also happened in Hawaii.