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Teaching and learning Gagana Tokelau
Talofa nī!
Welcome to the online environment developed to support the teaching of Gagana Tokelau.
Tokelau language week
Tokelau language week/Te vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau
Ulu tonu mai!
Tokelau (Gagana Tokelau) Language Week takes place in Sunday 22 October to Saturday 28 October 2023.
Tokelau language
Gagana Tokelau is spoken on the atolls of Tokelau. The language is related to gagana Sāmoa and te gana Tuvalu.
In his 2020 article Is Tokelauan facing extinction?, John Middleton says most speakers of gagana Tokelau live in New Zealand. That combined with rising sea levels points to a need to keep alive gagana Tokelau in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Language resources
Use the language resources on the tabs.
Learn Tokelauan contains:
- Gagana Tokelau: The Tokelau Language Guidelines
- Muakiga! An Introduction to Gagana Tokelau
Tokelauan storybooks
Page on this site that lists title, overview, and teacher support material for storybooks.
Tokelau Language Week
NZC Online provides curriculum connections and ideas for your class and school to participate.
Resources for Tokelau Language Week 2023
Downloadable resources from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Supporting Pacific learners | Classroom teaching resources
Online resources for Language Weeks for Tokelau language week.
Tokelau language activity book
Activity book, suitable for ages five to ten, that explores the language, islands, and culture of Tokelau.
Features crosswords, colouring-in pages, word searches, and a game. Visit the site to download a PDF of the book.
Tokelau dictionary
The University of Auckland's The Bookshelf website houses this digitised text.
Useful phrases in Tokelauan
A collection of useful phrases in Tokelauan from the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages. The site also provides information about Tokelauan and numbers in Tokelauan.
Children's book
Watercress Tuna and the children of Champion Street
Author Patricia Grace features four Pacific cultures (including Tokelau) in this story about a tuna that has a magic throat and gives gifts to children.
An activity for New Zealand Curriculum levels 1-3 is included.
Tokelau history
The history of Tokelau tatau and tattooing (2013)
Te Papa's Senior Curator Pacific Cultures Sean Mallon describes tatau (tattooing) in Tokelau.
Artwork put little-known history of Tokelau slavery in front of Porirua people (Stuff article, 2021)
Ioana Gordon-Smith, Curator Maori Pacific at Pātaka Arts Museum and arts writer, explains the artwork, "Cry of the Stolen People", told the little-known history of Tokelau slavery.
Story: Tokelauans
Learn about Tokelauan culture and customs, communities, and immigration from Te Ara Encylopedia of New Zealand.
At the library
Find out how libraries are supporting and celebrating Gagana Tokelau language week.
Vāiaho O Te Gagana Tokelau Tokelau Language Week – Education Resource 2016
Members of the Tokelauan community in New Zealand brought together ideas and developed this resource. Downloadable as a PDF. Although the resource is centred on the 2016 theme, it has useful and still relevant sections such as alphabet, helpful words, songs, and book recommendations.
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Tokelau Language Week Education Resource 2016 (PDF, 3 MB)
Tokelau on Tagata Pasifika
Return to Tokelau
Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi was the first New Zealand MP of Tokelauan descent.
Anauli Karima Fai’ai follows Kris back to his parents’ homeland of Tokelau.
Join the journey. Watch the three-part series Tagata Pasifika produced. Aired 9 November 2018
Building a vaka
Tokelau community is keeping traditional knowledge alive by building a vaka from scratch.
This episode, set in Porirua, aired on 17 May 2012.
The art of the pa
The art of the pa features a family of pa carvers in Whangaparoa. The pa pendant, made from mother of pearl, is a symbol of identity for Tokelauans.
This episode was part of Tokelau language week 2013.