Delegation from New Zealand visits Heritage Center, tours campus

posted on June 21, 2012

On June 19, a group of 30 Māori educators affiliated with the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language (Te Panekiretanga O Te Reo Māori) visited Red Cloud School.

The group members visited The Heritage Center, spent quite a bit of time browsing the Red Cloud Indian Art Show, and received a tour of the campus. The group, who are involved at the forefront of the Māori language revitalization movement, are spending a week in the Dakotas primarily observing local Lakota language preservation initiatives.

The delegation was led by Māori language activist and elder Dr. Timoti Karetu. Karetu is widely regarded as one of the foremost living experts on the Māori language. In 1970 he was the first Professor of Māori Studies at the University of Waikato. He was appointed as New Zealand’s first Māori Language Commissioner in 1987. In addition, Karetu has received honorary doctorates from Victoria University and the University of Waikato.

Red Cloud and The Heritage Center receive many international visitors over the course of the year. This spring alone saw groups from the Ukraine, Great Britain, Hawai’i, and Japan.