Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke broke out into a powerful haka during New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday, November 14^th temporality halting proceedings. The incredibly chilling video has been circulating the internet for weeks now as thousands took to the streets in a nine-day hīkoi, or peaceful protest, against the Treaty Principles Bill.

This is not the first time MP Maipi-Clarke has performed a haka in parliament. She also went viral in December of 2023 for performing a haka during her maiden speech. At 22 years old, MP Maipi-Clarke is the youngest sitting Member of Parliament in New Zealand in almost two centuries. She has been a vocal critic of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for his continued undermining of Māori rights and is now a principal voice calling to have this controversial bill thrown out. 

After being asked if her party supported the bill, MP Maipi-Clarke tore up a copy of the bill, beginning the haka, with many others joining in. The bill was introduced by New Zealand’s ACT Party, as they argued it would legally define the principles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi is the fundamental Treaty in New Zealand and their founding document, signed between the British Crown and over 500 Māori Chiefs.

The country has often been seen as a leader in Indigenous rights, but the Te Pāti Māori, also known as the Māori Party, fear this new bill will undermine those very same rights, which they have worked so hard to secure for the Māori. 

The bill’s three principles state that the New Zealand Government has full power to govern, and Parliament has full power to make laws. The Crown recognises the rights the Māori had under the Treaty of Waitangi; however, this principle only applies if these rights are agreed upon under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. Everyone is equal before the law and entitled to equal protection and equal enjoyment of fundamental human rights. This bill effectively erases the Treaty of Waitangi and the original relationship between the British Crown and the Māori. 

The Waitangi Tribunal, a commission of inquiry with the exclusive right to determine the meaning of the Treaty, released in a review of the bill that it was “novel in its Treaty interpretations; fashioned on a disingenuous historical narrative; and distorted the text of the Treaty of Waitangi”. The Tribunal recommended that the bill should be abandoned. 

The Treaty Principles Bill erases any special status that the Māori hold as a People in New Zealand. ACT proposed the bill as they feared the country was being divided by race, a fair sentiment quickly undermined by their attempt to assimilate an entire group of Indigenous Peoples, in favour of “easier” Treaty interpretation and governance. The bill passed its first reading on November 14^th, but is not likely to pass a second, as the National Party and New Zealand First Party have announced they would not support it. 

Sadly, Indigenous Peoples must still fight today for the rights they were promised hundreds of years ago. However, this present attempt by a bigoted party to erase Indigenous rights seems to have been stopped by a badass Māori woman and her people, showcasing what true Indigenous governance looks like.