Who is Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke, whose Haka dance in NZ Parliament went viral?

New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has once again gone viral after a video caught her performing the traditional Maori haka and tearing up a copy of a controversial bill during a parliamentary session.

The 22-year-old, who is the country’s youngest MP since 1853, had previously made headlines this year when she performed the haka (a Maori ceremonial war dance) in the parliament.

During her recent dance, she was joined by several supporters in the public gallery, which led to Speaker Gerry Brownlee suspending proceedings for a while.

Notably, the haka was part of a protest by Maori MPs to disrupt the vote on the Indigenous Treaty Bill, a proposed reinterpretation of an 184-year-old treaty between the British and the Indigenous Maori.

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🔥Unprecedented & simply magnificent. That time in Nov 2024 when a haka led by Aotearoa’s youngest MP 22yo Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke erupted in the House stopping the Treaty Principles Bill from passing its first reading, triggering the Speaker to suspend Parliament.… pic.twitter.com/pkI7q7WGlr

— Kelvin Morgan 🇳🇿 (@kelvin_morganNZ) November 14, 2024

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Who is Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke?

1. The young MP sees herself as a protector of the Maori language and represents the voice of New Zealand’s younger generation of voters.

2. When asked about her party’s voting stance on a controversial bill, Te Pati Maori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke responded by performing haka - a traditional Maori chant of challenge. The performance caused an uproar in the parliament as opposition lawmakers and observers in the public gallery joined in. She was suspended for a day from the Parliament.

3. Maipi-Clarke is the youngest sitting MP to serve in New Zealand’s Parliament in nearly 200 years. She first gained attention after her election in 2023, where she performed the traditional Haka during her maiden parliamentary speech.

4. Both Maipi-Clarke and her father were considered candidates to represent Te Pati Maori in the elections. Eventually, she was chosen for her “youthful perspective.”

5. Notably, Maipi-Clarke has been quite vocal in her criticism of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his conservative government, which has faced allegations of ripping apart Maori rights. As Luxon’s popularity has declined due to some hardline policies, Maipi-Clarke has emerged as one of five alternative “preferred Prime Minister” candidates, according to a local poll conducted by Time magazine.

6. She has pledged to defend Maori rights and culture. Maipi-Clarke also supports incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practices in tackling climate change. Her activism is inspired by her grandfather, Taitimu Maipi, a member of the Maori activist group Nga Tamatoa, and she is also a grand-niece of Maori language advocate Hana Te Hemara.

7. Maipi-Clarke is from Huntly, a small town located between Auckland and Hamilton. While she prefers not to define herself by her political role, she also runs a Maori community garden.

8. According to several reports, in addition to her work in politics and activism, she is also involved in teaching school children about gardening.

9. A strong supporter of the Maori language, Maipi-Clarke aims to become the new generation’s voice within her community. She also has a strong social media presence with over 100,000 followers on Instagram.

10. Speaking to Time Magazine last year, Maipi-Clarke said that she wanted to stand up for younger voters and politically make them aware about how certain judgments can affect their daily lives. “Looking at the two main priorities for me coming into this was our indigenous ways of looking after our environment and looking after younger people who would usually go into gangs or who don’t feel connected to the culture. So those are probably my two top priorities, but like I said, there’s so much to cover,” she told the magazine.

Under the principles established in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which describes the relationship between the government and Maori, tribes were guaranteed extensive rights to retain their lands and safeguard their interests in exchange for surrendering governance to the British Crown. The proposed bill seeks to apply these rights universally to all New Zealanders.

The bill has minimal support and is unlikely to pass into law. Critics argue that it risks inciting racial tension and constitutional instability, while thousands of New Zealanders are travelling across the country this week to protest against it, Associated Press reported.

Despite its lack of popularity, the proposal passed its first vote on Thursday. The bill’s progress is partly due to New Zealand’s political system, which sometimes allows smaller parties to exert extreme influence over legislative agendas. It also shows a growing unease among some New Zealanders with more rapid progress in recent years towards fulfilling the promises made to Maori since the country’s colonisation.