A recent protest in New Zealand's Parliament in which lawmakers broke into a Haka—a traditional Maori dance—has attracted global attention. One might wonder, what egregious measure under protest warranted such a dramatic show of opposition?

Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of Te Pāti Māori stood and began a rhythmic Māori chant of challenge, which swelled to a roar as opposition lawmakers and spectators in the public gallery joined in.

Māori lawmakers interrupted a New Zealand parliamentary vote with a Haka to protest a law that would erode the land and cultural rights of Indigenous New Zealanders.

The Treaty Principles Bill seeks to revise New Zealand’s foundational agreement with Maori people and is hugely unpopular, with even the prime minister deriding it.

New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers were ejected on Thursday when a ringing haka began – a rhythmic Māori chant of challenge – over a controversial bill redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown.

The proposed bill could redefine the country's relationship with Indigenous people Māori lawmakers performed a traditional haka dance to protest a New Zealand bill. On Thursday, Nov. 14, Parliament was suspended after opposition lawmakers performed the dance while the bill was read,

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty. Protests have been swelling throughout New Zealand after a minor party in the conservative coalition government drafted a bill to redefine the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.

New Zealand's parliament was suspended and two lawmakers were ejected during a vote on a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown.