Video

Ko Te Reo Māori Society (Rōpū) – Dr Cathy Dewes | Tuia Te Ako 2022

Māori learner success
Published: 28 November 2023

Dr Cathy Dewes reflects on her journey where she learned te reo Māori. She describes her involvement in promoting the language, supporting the petition, and contributing to various educational initiatives, culminating in the establishment of Māori schools.

About the speaker

Dr Cathy Dewes

Te Arawa, Ngāti Pōrou
Member of Te Reo Māori Society

Dr Cathy Dewes has been at the forefront of the revitalisation of te reo Māori all her adult life. She is principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamatā, in Rotorua and has been a leader in Māori education for more than 40 years. She says part of her motivation was being told she could not study Māori at her Wellington high school, “It was then I realised that society needed to change in order that Māori might live". 

Dr Dewes was an active member of the Te Reo Māori Society, which was responsible for the Māori language petition of 1972.

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