Cathy Moana Dewes is a New Zealand te reo Māori advocate. She affiliates to

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

, and has been a leader in Māori language and education since the 1970s.

Early years and education

Dewes spent her early years living on the East Cape and Bay of Plenty where she consistently heard the te reo Māori language. Both of Dewes' parents were teachers and she has three brothers. The family moved to Wellington in 1966 where Dewes was appointed Head Girl at

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. H ...

in 1968. Despite learning French, German, Italian and Latin at high school, Dewes was told by the principal that she was not allowed to study Māori. Dewes achieved a degree in Māori from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. While there she helped establish the Te Reo Māori Society which pushed for the promotion of the Māori language including news content on television and radio. Dewes is a trained teacher. She and her husband, Rawiri Rangitauira, have six children. Her husband died in 2014.

Career

Through her involvement in the Te Reo Māori Society, Dewes helped collect 30,000 signatures for the Māori Language petition presented to

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

in 1972. The petition called for the introduction of Māori language in schools. Dewes and her peers established Māori Language Day in 1975 which later became

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ( en, Māori Language Week) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to ...

(Māori Language Week). Dewes was a founding member of the

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools () in New Zealand where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture. Kura kaupapa Māori are establish ...

schools movement in New Zealand. She was chair of Te Runanganui o Kura Kaupapa Māori, the national body for Kura Kaupapa Māori. In 1985, Dewes established Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata in Rotorua, one of New Zealand's first Maori language schools. She has been principal of the school since its inception, including working 10 years in an unpaid role until the school secured government funding. Dewes was the first woman in 50 years to be appointed to the Te Arawa Māori Trust Board in 1995. Her iwi,

Ngāti Rangitihi Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, located in the Bay of Plenty. The tribe is part of the greater Te Arawa confederation of tribes. Nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa, the 8 beating hearts of Te Arawa derives from the 8 children of the ...

, supported her appointment and she won her seat. This was despite the trustees' objection and a High Court ruling enabled Dewes to be appointed. In 2016, Dewes was appointed to the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

's Advisory Group to review education funding systems. She was appointed to the Te Mātāwai advisory board by Hon Te Ururoa Flavell in the same year.

Recognition

Dewes was awarded an honorary doctorate from Waikato University in 2011 in a ceremony attended by 400 of her iwi, whanau and peers. In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to Māori. Dewes was interviewed on

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

after receiving her Queen's Birthday Honour. In 2012, Dewes was featured on

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solom ...

's Waka Huia programme. She was also featured on Maori Television's programme, Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau, in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewes, Cathy Victoria University of Wellington alumni Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand educators Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ngāti Porou people Te Arawa people People educated at Wellington Girls' College Māori language revivalists