Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand and is one of our two official languages. In 1986 te reo Māori was guaranteed as a taonga (treasure), under the Treaty of Waitangi and was later made an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand in 1987.
New Zealand has celebrated Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week each year since 1975, to commemorate the presentation of the 1972 Māori language petition on September 14 to parliament.