Trailblazers and hard workers recognised at Māori Language Awards

8:29 pm on 7 November 2025

Pokere Paewai, Māori issues reporter

Te Tohu Oranga Angitu (Lifetime Achievement) award winner Piripi Walker. Photo: Supplied/Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori

A quiet trailblazer, a beloved kōhanga reo nanny and the translators behind the first-ever bilingual Olympic sporting glossary are among those recognised at Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025, the annual Māori Language Awards held in Wellington on Friday.

Hosted by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori the Māori Language Commission, the event celebrates those carrying te reo Māori into the future.

Te Tohu Oranga Angitu (Lifetime Achievement) award went to Piripi Walker whose work has quietly shaped the Māori language landscape.

A founder of Te Upoko o te Ika, Wellington's first Māori radio station, and secretary for Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te reo Māori during the landmark Te Reo Māori claim, his influence is woven through decades of language revitalisation.

Te Tohu Tū Rangatira (Supreme Award) went to Lorraine 'Nanny Lolo' Pirihira Hale of Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Teko, who has devoted more than 40 years to her community. Representing Mātaatua-Tauranga Moana on the National Kōhanga Reo Trust Board, she has inspired generations to live and learn te reo Māori every day.

Hale told RNZ she was shocked when she found out the award would be going to her.

"Tino harikoa ahau i tēnei wā engari kei te whai whakaaro ake ahau tērā pea he rūkahu nō ā rātau kōrero mōku. Nā te mea ko Nanny Lolo te mea whakamataku tangata pea."

I'm feeling very happy at the moment, although I did think they may be lying to me [when they told me I had won]. Because Nanny Lolo is someone who can be quite scary at times.

Hale said even after 40 years of working in kōhanga reo she still loves the kaupapa, having the chance to nurture tamariki in te reo and tikanga and thereby bringing their wider whānau into the kaupapa.

Te reo is going strong especially among younger generations, but there is a generation in between who missed out on kōhanga reo, she said.

She encouraged parents to keep learning and speaking te reo and not to feel ashamed to speak te reo to their children outside of school.

"Kua huri te kei o te waka, kua hoki mai wa tātau tamariki ki te whāngai i te reo, ko rātau mā he kaiako whāngai i te reo katahi, karua kei te whakahokia mai e rātau ō rātau ake tamariki mokopuna ki roto i te kaupapa."

The stern of the canoe has turned around, our children are returning to pass on the language, firstly they are now the teachers and secondly they are bringing their own children into kōhanga reo.

When asked about her hopes for the future of te reo Hale said she would like to see te reo return as the main language of her marae.

"Ko tāku nei e wawata ana ki runga i ō tātau marae ahakoa pēhea mai i te hunga tao kai tae noa ake ki te pae, me Māori tō tātau reo. Me kōrero Māori i roto i ō tātau kauta, me kōrero Māori i runga i te marae kia tū rangatira ai tō tātau reo."

My hope is that no matter where you are on our marae, from the cooks to the orators, we are speaking are speaking Māori. We need to speak te reo in the kitchen and in front of the wharenui for our language to be revered.

"Kei te hoki atu ahau ki ngā mahara o tōku pāpā, i roto i te tangi o tōna reo ka rongo koe i tana ngākau, ka rongo koe i te wairua o ana kōrero. Ina ka taea e tātau te whakahoki mai i tērā āhuatanga kei runga noa atu, kua piki teitei kē tō tātau reo."

I think back to my father, in the sound of his reo you could hear his spirit, you could hear his soul. If we can bring that attribute of te reo back it will take our language to a whole new level.

She thanked her parents and aunties for setting the example that hard work is the way to realise her aspirations.

"Me raupā aku ringa kia ao aku wawata. Ki ahau nei na mahia te mahi kaua e warea atu ki ngā whakawhiu a etahi atu hīkoihia tō hīkoi i runga i te whakapono, te tika ki tāu ngākau."

I need to work my hands to the bone to realise my dreams. Do the work, don't be preoccupied with what others say, keep following your journey and trust your heart.

Te Taura Whiri chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui-Barr said it was an honour to recognise those who lead, inspire and carve out a future for te reo Māori.

"This is a woman with mokopuna, whānau, and te reo at the heart of all she does - moving mountains so others can learn their language," he said of Hale.

Other winners include Dr Hona Black, Aukaha News, Arataua Media, Auckland Transport, Hākinakina Rangatahi, and the translators of the innovative project Te Reo Māori ki Parī 2024 - the first-ever bilingual Olympic sporting glossary.

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 recipients: