Perceived Health Benefits from a Commitment to Speak te reo Māori in the Home: Four Women’s Perspectives

摘要

This report recounts and explores the correlation between the pursuit of te reo Māori and health by four Māori women participants involved in a larger community action research project launched on 27 April 2007, called te reo o te kāinga. The project was run in Tauranga Moana (the Tauranga Area) by the Ngāiterangi iwi runanga (council) in partnership with Te Whare Wānanga O Awanuiarangi and was funded by Ngā Pae o te Matauranga. The aim of the program was to work collaboratively with Ngāiterangi whanau (families) to increase the degree of Māori spoken in the home. This report seeks to draw inferences between the pursuit of te reo Māori and the perceived or real health benefits the four women attained during the year.