New resources help Turi Māori connect with their reo and culture

A new set of resources created with, and for, Turi Māori (deaf Māori) is helping bridge a long-standing gap with their language, culture, and identity.  

The resources, created by CCS Disability Action in partnership with Turi Māori leaders, feature visual New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) aids for waiata (songs) Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi and Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho, alongside the karakia (prayer) Rūaumoko. 

Two months after their release, Turi Māori leader Starr Phillips said the resources have already helped build confidence within a community where it had not always come easily. 

“I’ve learnt that my reo doesn’t have to look or sound the same as someone else’s for it to be valid.

“NZSL is part of how I express my Māori identity, and this kaupapa has given me more confidence in that.” 

For years, Turi Māori have faced barriers to accessing te ao Māori (the Māori world), with few resources that reflected both their language and cultural identity.  

“Turi Māori can sometimes be left out or have to find our own ways of understanding the language,” Phillips said.

Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People NZSL team leader Kelley Bensley said being able to confidently navigate both the deaf and Māori worlds was important to Turi Māori. 

Historically, however, those spaces had not always been equally accessible. 

NZSL has not always reflected the depth and nuance of Māori concepts, while there are also few interpreters confident working across both te reo Māori and NZSL, she said.  

For many Turi Māori, that has meant feeling isolated from important cultural practices such as waiata and karakia, affecting their sense of belonging in te ao Māori. 

Those challenges helped shape the need for new resources like the one Phillips helped to create. 

The project, funded by Te Mātāwai last year, allowed CCS Disability Action to support Turi Māori leaders to begin conversations and develop the new material.    

Over 10 months, the rōpū (group) worked alongside experts in te reo and mātauranga (knowledge) Māori to develop and refine the signs for the waiata and karakia.  

For Phillips, the process involved far more than finding NZSL equivalents for Māori words. 

The group discussed the meaning behind kupu (words), how the concepts should be visually expressed in NZSL, and how tikanga (protocol) and te reo Māori could be honoured throughout the process. 

He said the collaboration had been one of the most meaningful parts of the kaupapa.  

It had “helped address that gap by creating resources with Turi Māori, rather than simply for Turi Māori".

That distinction – with, not for – was also important to CCS Disability Action’s Māori development lead Recenia Kākā. 

Kākā said the project followed more than a decade of hearing about the negative experiences Turi Māori have faced in education and the wider hearing community. 

“This was an opportunity to really hear their voices and allow them to lead and shape.”

Two months on, Kākā said the resources are already being used beyond the project’s launch. 

They were recently showcased at a tangi attended by a large number of Turi Māori. This gave the community a way to participate in one of the most significant te ao Māori practices through the signs they created themselves.  

“You could see their confidence in what they had created,” Kākā said. “They have made something that is truly their own, and you can tell they’re proud of it.” 

She said CCS Disability Action’s wider ambition is for Turi Māori to take on more visible roles on the marae, from welcoming manuhiri (visitors) to standing as kaikōrero (speaker). 

The project sits within a wider push to make te ao Māori more accessible through NZSL. 

Deaf Aotearoa has developed its own Let’s Talk - Māori Concepts resource, which has introduced 25 NZSL signs associated with Māori concepts people encounter in everyday life.  

Deaf Aotearoa Māori cultural lead Moihi Hakaraia said work like this reflected a broader effort to ensure accessibility is built in “from the outset rather than added later".  

That work is also being supported through Te Rōpū Kaitiaki - the Māori advisory group to the NZSL Board which continues to meet regularly with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori to discuss new signs for Māori words and concepts.  

The recently launched NZSL Strategy 2026-2036 also includes a specific push to grow the number of trilingual interpreters working across NZSL, te reo Māori and English.  

For Phillips, however, the future of the resources ultimately comes back to the next generation of Turi Māori. 

He hopes that resources like these become more widely used in schools, among whānau, and across the deaf community, giving young people the chance to connect with both their reo and their culture.  

“I would want them to see themselves in these resources and know that they belong.

“I hope they look at these resources and think, ‘This is for me, I can learn my reo too.’”