Conference Finds Common Language

Hamilton hosted the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in late November, an event which drew more than 3,000 attendees from all over the world. The delegation from North America’s Kodiak Island is keen to emulate the “unusual success” of Maori in maintaining their culture and language. Kodiak Islander April Laktonen Counceller spoke of her NZ experience – which included visiting te reo immersion schools from primary to university level and meeting the Maori Queen, Te Atairangikaahu – in the Indian Country, America’s leading indigenous paper. “It felt really good to be around so many people trying to improve their community,” she said. “It didn’t matter if they were from an island in the South Pacific or an island in the North Pacific, like Kodiak.”