As part of a documentary on Māori Deaf, ‘Te Hēteri’, a programme screened by Māori TV, met with Māori Deaf over several occasions, specifically shadowing Patrick Thompson, but also interviewing others in the Māori Deaf world.
This raw, edited footage consists of interviews with Whiti Ronaki, Michael Wi and Stephanie Awheto – a trilingual interpreter. Stephanie talks about her experiences as a link for Ngāti Turi to connect with their whanau, hapū and iwi as a qualified trilingual interpreter. She openly talks about her experiences on the marae, and the disparities in Māori Deaf knowledge.
Whiti talks about his work as a mental health community worker and how language and a cultural connection play a vital part in that role. Michael explains how Rūaumoko Marae was established and the importance of having a Deaf Marae.
To view the full edited documentary ‘The experiences of Māori Deaf’ go to https://signdna.org/video/the-experiences-of-maori-deaf/
Please note, so far only audio content has been captioned on this video, not the NZSL responses. SignDNA has limited resources and is always on the look out for captioners – hearing volunteers who can caption the audio content and NZSL users who can caption the NZSL content. If you are interested in volunteering, please get in touch with SignDNA.