Dame Kāterina Mataira was a Māori language proponent, educator, intellectual, artist and writer. Her efforts to revive and revitalise the Māori language (te reo Māori) led to the growth of Kura Kaupapa Māori in New Zealand. Kāterina Mataira was a key revitaliser of the Māori language whose work continues to reach thousands of learners, young and old. She helped set up the first Māori language immersion school in 1985, co-authored the charter for kaupapa Māori schools and was a foundation member of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission in 1987.