Moera
Tuilaepa-Taylor RNZ Pacific manager
It’s a
significant week for the Tokelauan community in Aotearoa New
Zealand as they celebrate Te Vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau –
Tokelau Language Week.
This year’s language week
coincides with the centenary of Tokelau’s relationship with
New Zealand.
There are 9822 tagata Tokelau living in
New Zealand based on the 2023 Census, with a majority of
those living in the greater Wellington region.
Gagana
Tokelau is classified as severely endangered by
UNESCO.
Tokelau Aotearoa advisory group chairman
Reverend Tui Sopoaga admits the Tokelauan language is on the
decline.
“Even though our language is on the decline
but we are still trying our best because we love our
language. And the theme of this year, Ke mauaka taku gagana
Tokelau i taku aganuku, more or less is your language to be
rooted by your culture,” he said.
Members of the
Tokelauan community gathered in Porirua for a flag-raising
ceremony supported by the Porirua City
Council.
Reverend Sopoaga thanked the city’s Mayor
Anita Baker for supporting the event and described Porirua
as the capital of Tokelau in Aotearoa.
“Most of our
Tokelau people are now living in Porirua, it used to be in
Auckland. We have taken that role to be the capital of
Tokelau and that’s where we are at the moment.
“Our
community, Atafu, Fakaofo and Nukunonu, they mostly live
here in Porirua but some of our people are in the Hutt
Valley as well. So we are all over the place especially the
Wellington region.”
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During the flag raising ceremony,
students from the country’s first Tokelau bilingual class
based at Glenview School performed. The class was launched
in 2023.
Glenview assistant principal Tufaina Faraimo
told RNZ Pacific that the class will soon be at full
capacity.
“Glenview school is a small school so we
don’t have capacity to grow anymore than what we got at the
moment so we currently have 16 students but our capacity is
18.”
Gagana Tokelau is now official NCEA curriculum
subject focused on developing listening, speaking, reading,
and writing skills in the Tokelauan language
Faraimo
said it was encouraging to see students interested to learn
the language.
“We are really excited, we’ve gone up to
Level 2 and 3 in the last couple of years and so it’s
growing and we are excited for a pathway for our
students.”
Events celebrating Gagana Tokelau and
culture will take place in different parts of the
country.
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