Te Ataakura Pewhairangi, Ngāti Porou, was brought up in te ao Māori, and her home language was and still is te reo Māori. A product of kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori and wharekura, she not only loves her language but also understands the responsibility as a fluent native speaker and writer to further promote te reo Māori. She has worked extensively in television, and has MC’d various regional and national events such as the secondary schools kapa haka competition, Hauora Unleashed and Manu Kōrero national speech competition. A former senior tutor teaching te reo Māori and cultural competency at Massey University, she is now the Māori Student Recruitment Advisor at the university.
