international people start calling our country aotearoa instead of new zealand challenge

aotearoa is the te reo name for our country, commonly translated as "land of the long white cloud" as the story goes Kupe was guided to our whenua by following a long white cloud in the sky. new zealand is a name which was forced on us by colonizers who stole our precious land less than 200 years ago. by reverting back to the māori name you are metaphorically giving the land back to the tangata whenua, the people of the land, and we can begin to normalize using the proper names for things that should have always belonged to māori

heres a link to a good pronunciation, i recommend practicing saying it along to the video. but please remember that even if you cant get it perfect, say it anyway!! its better to try and get it slightly wrong than not try at all

hearing/saying helps, but also my brain wants to see it,
and this is how my American ears hear it:

OW-tay-uh-ROH-ah (with gently rolled-R)