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.

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.

The Treaty of Waitangi, which is the focus of the proposed bill, dates back to 1840 and is considered New Zealand's founding document. The agreement was signed by Māori chiefs and the British monarchy and focused on rectifying wrongs done to the indigenous people when the country was colonized.

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.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of New Zealand’s Māori party rose and began a Haka, tearing a copy of the proposed law in half.

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