Ngati Kahungunu is supporting the Government's move to set up a Maori language research centre.
He Puna Whakarauora will come under the Maori Language Commission - Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori, and will examine the state of the language, and identify where resources are most needed.
The director of Te Reo, Tikanga and Matauranga at Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Jeremy Tatere MacLeod, commends the Government's initiative, which is part of its proposed Maori Language Strategy.
He says his tribe has found from its own reo strategy that tribal dialects are important.
Mr Tatere MacLeod says te reo learners in Ngati Kahungunu were happy with the language they learnt from local providers, but they noticed a lack of iwi dialects.
He hopes He Puna Whakarauora will identify tribal dialects and find solutions to help keep them alive.
But Mr Tatere MacLeod says ultimately it is the responsibility of iwi to lead research regarding their own tribal dialects.
