OVER 13,000 KM FROM SAGAMOK, THE Māori OF NEW ZEALAND CAN TEACH US ABOUT INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE PRESERVATION

By Nelson Toulouse – with Sean Cassidy

The Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and settled on the island from Polynesia by waka (canoe), where they originated from time immemorial. They hosted the Indigenous World Language Conference in 2004, and the intent was to learn what other indigenous cultures were doing to preserve their language heritage.

Nelson Toulouse, from Sagamok, and a large group other indigenous participants from across North America flew from Toronto to San Francisco, USA and San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand, to join in the festivities and learn more about the Māori culture, their education system, and language preservation efforts. A diverse group of language teachers, singers, and band representatives travelled with Nelson, and the committee asked him to be the primary representative for the group.

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