Kiringāua Cassidy belongs to a generation of Ngāi Tahu rangatahi raised in te reo Māori, his whānau have been at the heart of Kotahi Mano Kāika, Kotahi Mano Wawata, the 25-year movement that's helped restore te reo to thousands of Ngāi Tahu homes.
As a tangata hauā who uses a wheelchair, he has also navigated Māori spaces that haven't always been designed with accessibility in mind.
Cassidy joined Stacey Morrison to discuss reo, leadership and belonging, and what it will take to ensure physical barriers never become barriers to language, identity and belonging.
He gets questions all the time about his disability, mostly from tamariki, who he thinks are better than adults at talking about it because they have no filter and are very honest.
That is one of the best ways to educate tamariki without any barriers and in a way that validates their curiosity, he said.
