Our kāinga is located in South Hokianga, Tai Tokerau. We are part of the largest iwi, and like many other kāinga across the country ours has felt the significant effects of loss of te reo Māori as the dominant language and all of the additional effects of colonisation. Many marae struggle to fill roles on marae, the pool of fluent and active speakers is lower than generations before, and many whānau don’t have te reo Māori as the dominant language in the home.

In 2019 a rōpū of cousins from Te Hikutū who are all passionate about both our kāinga and te ao Māori met to discuss how we might contribute to revitalising our reo. Our kaupapa – Kura Reo ki Whirinaki – hopes to be a contributor to the wider solution to this problem.