Heightened awareness came in the central city; rubbish and recycling receptacles labelled in te reo. So, too, petrol pumps.
My large extended Pākehā New Zealand family now habitually sprinkle conversation and communications with te reo. To them, the infusion is natural. But to this once-frequent visitor, long locked out by the Covid pandemic, the growing presence of te reo in public and private language seems accelerated.
Not everyone embraces the enlarging emblems of New Zealand's first inhabitants, nor shares this visitor's ease with their ascendancy. Yet, the dividends to the nation of the Mäori renaissance serve as a dispiriting reminder of how far behind my adopted homeland across the Tasman lags in reaching an enduring reconciliation with its own First Peoples, the Aboriginal nations.
The shock 35 years ago upon first entering a wrecked, joyless Aboriginal community lingers. Hope had vanished, spirits splintered. A few months ago, 2000km across the country in the dust of Alice Springs' outer badlands where Aboriginal people were banished, I saw a similar scene.
This story is from the March 11-17 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the March 11-17 2023 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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