Ashley Emiko (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Persian) is a proud indigenous wahine whose mahi celebrates diversity and reclaims space for voices often overlooked. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
Ashley Emiko (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Persian) felt like an outsider in te ao Māori for much of her life, but now she is on a journey of reclamation, reconnecting with her reo.
While Emiko attended kura kaupapa briefly as a kōtiro, te reo Māori was rarely spoken in her whare, leaving her disconnected from a part of her identity.
Today, she is reclaiming her reo and feels grounded as a wahine Māori, carrying the lessons of her tīpuna and the aspirations of generations to come.
"This is not just for me, but my tīpuna and for ngā tupuranga e haere ake nei," she told RNZ.
Speaking about her tamarikitanga, Emiko reflected on the many moments shared with her late Koro.
"Tōku Koro, he matatau i te reo Māori, heoi, tē taea ki te kōrero atu ki a mātou, ngā mokopuna...Kāore au i te mōhio he aha ai."
My grandfather was fluent in te reo Māori, but he couldn't speak it to us, his mokopuna… I don't know why.
"Heoi, kei te pōuri ahau ki tērā. Heoi, haere tonu pūpuri ngā ākoranga i hoatu mai e ia ki a mātou."
I am sad about that. But I still hold on to the lessons he gave us.
Emiko had planned to venture to New York at the beginning of the year for her mahi as a kaiwhakaahua (photographer), however, a "burning desire" for te reo called her home. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
Emiko is a photographer - she had planned to venture to New York at the beginning of the year, explaining that the mahi auaha (creative work) was "pumping."
"Heoi, I felt in my manawa that I needed to do something, and I could feel it burning."
Her desire to reclaim te reo was always there, she said, a "burning desire" that only grew stronger as she considered her whānau and the generations to come.
"Our pākeke are passing away. If I'm going to leave now and leave it all behind and not make the sacrifice to put in the mahi and really ground myself in ao Māori, I'll feel a little bit lost," she said.
"That was the motivator and tētahi tohu from my tūpuna."
Emiko also reflected on her late Koro, whose presence she still feels on her haerenga.
"That's a little bit pōuri, and even now on this haerenga, i whakaaro au, I wish that he was here to be able to have a kōrero to and pātai. But hei aha, the world works in mysterious ways, and there are maha ngā tohu (many signs) that I've received while being on this haerenga."
"He's there, watching over, feeding me, ngā kupu, ā wairua."
Emiko says her reo haerenga, although challenging, has been “tino miharo.” Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
A turning point came when she met her uncle, Kaihautū Tikanga Paora Sharples, who encouraged her to fully immerse herself in te reo.
"He tohu tērā," (That was a sign) she said.
"Me uru atu ki te kura ā me ako, me whai ngā mātauranga o te reo Māori, o te ao Māori."
You have to go to school and learn, and take on the knowledge of te reo Māori and te ao Māori.
At the beginning of 2025, Emiko enrolled at Te Wānanga Takiura in Tāmaki Makaurau.
"At the beginning of this year, I couldn't really speak te reo Māori… heoi, ināianei kā taea au i te kōrero, ka tarai au i ngā wā katoa, ahakoa te aha, ahakoa i ngā hapa,"
Now I can speak, I try all the time, no matter what, even if I make mistakes.
She describes her journey as "tino miharo."
"It'll be a haerenga mō ake tōnu atu. I'll constantly be learning. I love to ako."
Growing up, Emiko at times felt like an "outsider", so learning te reo Māori was a wero she had to overcome. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
She acknowledged the challenges that come with reclaiming her reo, including the feeling of whakamā, intergenerational trauma, and moments of feeling like an outsider.
"I am Māori, but having the reo is such a big aspect of our ao Māori and being Māori. For me, I felt like an outsider a lot of the time," Emiko said.
"Athough I grew up around my Koro and I grew up on the marae and I went to kura kaupapa when I was a kid for a brief time...while it was around me, I was still like an outsider in a way... that was hard."
But the journey of reclaiming the reo has also helped her confidence grow.
"I've grown that sense of confidence in who I am, grounded in who I am. I know where I come from, and I have a comfortable puna of reo to be able to conversate and even understand being on the marae."
"He maha ngā wā that I would just want to tangi… I can feel that in my manawa."
Emiko said she has found a wāhi haumaru among her akomanga at Takiura, a safe space to make mistakes, slip up, and learn. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
Alongside her kura, Emiko attended the first Koroneihana of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po.
Reflecting on her haerenga, she could see the growth in her reo, being able to understand what was happening and being around her for the first time.
"It is such a beautiful feeling to feel so connected to your people and who you are," she said.
"That has been probably the biggest journey for me. Seeing where I came from, where I started at the beginning of the year to now...the growth has been massive."
While Emiko has always been pukumahi (hard working) growing up, the journey of reclaiming her reo, alongside learning waiata, karakia, and tikanga, has been a test of dedication and perseverance.
"Ahakoa te aha, ahakoa te ngenge, te pouri, te harikoa, me mahia te mahi, haere tonu i ngā wā katoa.
No matter what, whether tired, sad, or happy, you have to do the work, and keep going always.
Emiko says reclaiming te reo Māori has helped her confidence grow. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
But through Te Wānanga Takiura, Emiko has found a wāhi haumaru, a safe space to make mistakes, slip up, and learn.
"If it wasn't for the space and the testament of the pukumahi that I've had to do and the pukumahi of my kaiako, Whaea Shar, I don't think that I would have progressed as well."
But not only that, seeing the hard work of all her peers has been incredible to witness - and for that she is "grateful."
"Ētahi tuakana, helping all of us teina has been beautiful and inspirational to see everyone's growth, so it's not just me, but it's them."
Despite the ups and downs, she encourages others to keep going, try their best, and trust themselves, reminding them that "we're all on this haerenga together, he waka eke noa" - a canoe which everyone can get on.
Ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke, just haere tonu… ahakoa te aha, me tarai," she said.
Through the ups and downs, just keep going… no matter what, keep trying.
"Me whakapono e koe...patua tērā taniwha, ahakoa te aha"
You must believe… defeat that taniwha, that challenge, no matter what.
Emiko says learning te reo Māori will be a journey "mō ake tōnu atu" - forever and always. Photo: Supplied / Ashley Emiko
She encourages others on their reo haerenga to think about their 'why'. For her, it's her tīpuna, whānau, and the generations coming after.
Part of that is spending time with the pēpi in her whānau, speaking te reo Māori whenever she can.
"I don't want them to have to go through the struggles we went through… I want it to be completely normal, and you see the confidence that grows inside the tamariki when they grow up in that ao."
This article is part of an ongoing series by Māori news journalist Layla Bailey-McDowell, sharing the journeys of individuals reclaiming the taonga of te reo Māori and embracing their Māoritanga.
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