Dame Kāterina Mataira

DNZM
Born(1932-11-13)13 November 1932
Tokomaru Bay, New Zealand
Died16 July 2011(2011-07-16) (aged 78)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Known forMāori language proponent, educator, intellectual, artist, writer

Dame Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira DNZM (13 November 1932 – 16 July 2011) was a New Zealand Māori language proponent, educator, intellectual, artist and writer.[1] Her efforts to revive and revitalise the Māori language (te reo Māori) led to the growth of Kura Kaupapa Māori in New Zealand.[1]

Biography

Mataira was born in 1932 in Tokomaru Bay,[2] on the east coast of the North Island.[1] She was a member of the Ngāti Porou iwi.[1] Mataira had nine children with her husband, Junior Te Ratu Karepa Mataira.[3] She initially studied to be an art teacher and educator.[3] She trained at Ardmore Teachers College and taught at Northland College where one of her students was Selwyn Muru, inspiring him to also attend Admore.[4]

Mataira spent time on various Pacific Islands. She was in Fiji from 1973 to 1975 including working at the University of South Pacific. She got involved with teacher training and also the study of tapa cloth making. From there she went to Rarotonga as they were reviving tapa. She ran art programmes in Samoa, Nauru and Gilbert Islands.[5]

Mataira and a friend, fellow teacher Ngoi Pēwhairangi, co-founded the Te Ataarangi programme as a way to teach and revitalize the Māori language.[3] Mataira was intrigued by the Silent Way, a language teaching method created by Caleb Gattegno, and adapted the method to teach Māori.[3] In 1980 she completed a master's thesis on the silent way, at the University of Waikato.[6] Her efforts earned her the nickname of the "mother" of the Kura Kaupapa Māori, according to Dr Pita Sharples.[3] She also authored Māori language children's picture books and novels.[3]

She became a foundation member of the Māori Language Commission in 1987.[7]

Honours and awards

In 1979 Mataira was awarded a Choysa Bursary for Children's Writers. With this she completed four Māori legend picture books.[5]

In 1996 the University of Waikato in 1996 gave her an Honorary Doctorate.[5]

In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mataira was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Māori language.[8] One month before her death, she was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to the Māori language, in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours.[9]

In 2001 she received Te Tohu Tiketike / Exemplary Award from Creative New Zealand's Te Waka Toi awards.[5][7]

In 2007, Mataira received the Betty Gilderdale Award.[10]

In 2009 UNESCO awarded her the Linguapax Award which is ‘an international honour which recognises the preservation and promotion of mother languages as essential vehicles of identity and cultural expression.’[5]

In 2017, Mataira was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[11]

Books

Written in Māori language (te reo Māori)

  • Te Atea (1975)[7]
  • Makorea (2000). Ahuru Press. A three-volume historical novel.[7]
  • Makorea (2002)[7]
  • Rehua (2006)[7]
  • Picture books in Māori for children – Maui and the Big Fish, Marama Taniweto and Nga Mokonui a Rangi[7]

Death

Mataira died on 16 July 2011, in Hamilton, at the age of 78.[3] She was survived by her nine children, 50 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.[3] Her tangi, or Māori funeral, was at the Ohinewaiapu Marae in Rangitukia.[3]

One of Mataira's grandchildren is the physicist Ratu Mataira.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McCammon, Belinda (16 July 2011). "Leading Maori language figure Dame Katerina dies". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Interview with Katerina Mataira - Kids". Christchurch City Libraries. 13 November 1932. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Dame Katerina Mataira dies". New Zealand Press Association. The New Zealand Herald. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Toi tū, toi ora : contemporary Māori art. Nigel Borell, Moana Jackson, Taarati Taiaroa, Auckland Art Gallery. Auckland, New Zealand. 2022. ISBN 978-0-14-377673-4. OCLC 1296712119.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Katerina Te Hei Koko Mataira". Kōmako. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Mataira, Katerina (1980). The effectiveness of the silent way method in the teaching of Maori as a second language (Masters thesis). Waikato Research Commons, University of Waikato. hdl:10289/13699.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Creative New Zealand mourns the loss of Dame Katerina Mataira". creativenz.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Queen's Birthday honours list 1998". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2011". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award". Storylines. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Kāterina Mataira". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Hall, Kristin (6 August 2023). "Young Māori physicist seeking to harness power of the stars". 1 News. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
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