COVID-19 continues to be a powerful reminder of the importance of language and culture to the wellbeing of our Pacific communities, said the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio today while launching Tokelau Language Week.
“Our Tokelau community in Aotearoa has responded strongly to the challenges of the global pandemic by getting vaccinated and supporting others in our Pacific communities to get their vaccine,” the Minister said.
“The people of Tokelau also know only too well how the global currents of uncertainty wrought by climate change erode physical and spiritual wellbeing as they also damage the land and natural environment.
“So, it’s appropriate that for this year’s Tokelau Language Week, the Tokelau community has chosen ‘Tokelau! Tapui tau gagana ma tau aganuku, i te manaola ma te lautupuola’ which means ‘Tokelau! Preserve your language and culture, to enhance spiritual and physical wellbeing,” he asid.
‘Tapui’ emphasises the need to care for and nurture the Tokelau Language and culture to ensure its growth and prosperity.
“They have also embraced, for the second year running, the opportunities presented by celebrating Te Gagana o Tokelau – the Tokelau language – online, in order to keep people safe from COVID-19.”
“There’s a traditional saying in Tokelau culture, “ko na alofivae e hē mātutu”, that means in English ‘the soles of our feet are never dry’ – our work is never done, we must keep persevering.
“I know this spirit of resilience, embodied in the Kanava wood so beloved of Tokelau’s carvers, will ensure that the language and culture of Tokelau are preserved, raising the spiritual and physical wellbeing of our Tokelau people, be they here in Aotearoa or back on the beautiful atolls of Tokelau,” the Minister said.
Tokelau’s three coral atolls, Atafu, Fakaofo and Nukunonu, cover a total land area of just 12 square kilometres.
The most recent census records 8,676 Tokelauans living in Aotearoa, almost half of those reside in the Whanganui-a-Tara region. This year marks 73 years since Tokelau became part of the New Zealand realm.
“Take the time this year to join Tokelauans across the motu in celebrating Tokelau Language Week with a variety of online activities. Even learning a greeting or two can be the window into Tokelau’s cultural traditions, as well as a chance to meet new people, with fresh perspectives,” said Mr Sio.
Tokelau Language Week has been celebrated since 2012 as part of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ Pacific Language Weeks programme and is the ninth and final language week to be celebrated this year.
